Forget what you know
by bkabat
Summary: Complete! When summer is over, Brooke turns to Nathan. Will they be able to move past their heartbreak and be together? Can Peyton ever recover from Jake?
1. Attention

**Chapter One**

"**Attention"**

"This table has taken a turn for the worst. Rock bottom and over the edge, well it's not like it hurts that much anyway. Upside down and inside out. When I leave here I'm going alone. We'll it's not like it hurts much anyway." Peyton sang the lyrics that were all too familiar to her. The Academy is. "Attention Attention! May I have all your eyes and ears to the front of the room, if only, if only for one second, will you hear what I have to say? Oh, Did I mention when I see you it stings like hell?" she looked down at a picture Jake & Jenny she had drawn across her floor. "To the fact that we could have something that'll never happen. Will you hear what I have to?"

The song meant so much to her. She had written the lyrics across her wall such a short time ago. "This balance has weighed out our hearts desire. I'm trying to make it alone. Well it's not like it hurts that much anyway. Upside down and inside out. When I leave here I'm going alone. But I'm dying, I'm dying to touch. And it's not like it hurts much anyway." Her CD player stopped. "What the," she turned around and saw Brooke standing in her doorway. "Brooke!" she smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"My parents let me come back for senior year!" she exclaimed. "I'm here to stay!"

Peyton smiled. "That's great!" the truth was it wasn't great. Peyton and Lucas had grown close over the summer. She enjoyed his company. As their friendship grew she learned more and more about Lucas's new secret. He had confessed his love for Brooke only a summer ago, and within that time he moved on.

Brooke hadn't called him all summer. She wasn't sure how she felt about what Lucas told her. She loved him. She just didn't know how to tell him. "Come here best friend!" Brooke smiled pulling her into a hug. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too Brooke." She patted her on the back. "Where are you staying?"

"Lucas'" she told her. "Karen said that I could finish my senior year out there. Only I guess Lucas got his room back, so it's to the couch for my homeless ass."

"You could always stay here you know," Peyton suggested.

"I wish I could P. Sawyer but my parents talked to Karen already. Karen is on strict instruction to watch over me. Apparently I would get in too much trouble living with you. Which I guess is probably true."

Peyton nodded. "Have you seen Lucas yet?"

"No, not yet. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to say to him." She admit. "I thought about it all summer. I was going to come back and tell him how much I loved him. Then I started to question it. I remember all the things that happened, and I wondered if it could ever work again."

Peyton smiled. That was a great attitude for her. She wanted to tell her the truth about Lucas' girlfriend, but wasn't ready to bring her down like that on her first day back. She would let Lucas tell her. "That's probably the best idea." She turned her CD player back on.

"Any word from fugitive boy?" she asked referring to Jake.

Peyton closed her eyes. "I don't think I can talk about him right now." She said honestly. "I miss him so much Brooke. I haven't heard from him."

"I'm really sorry Peyton. Just know that now I'm here for you!" she hugged her again. "I should get going, off to say hello to Lucas."

"Good luck with that," Peyton called. She fell onto her bed and occupied herself with another drawing.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Karen opened the door and helped Brooke load her last bag into the house. "I'm glad your back Brooke." Karen smiled at her.

"I'm glad to be back!" she said happily. "Is Lucas home?"

Karen's smiled faded. Lucas was out with his new girlfriend. She wasn't about to be the one to give the news to Brooke. "No, I'm not sure where he is." She lied.

"Okay." Brooke sad sadly. "How about Andy? Where is Andy? Did you find him? Is he back?" she asked a million questions.

Karen's eyes lit up. "He's here." She smiled. "He's here to stay. He is in the process of buying another house, in Tree Hill." Karen told her. "He wants us to move in with him.

"That's great Karen. I'm really happy for you." Brooke said sincerely. "It's good to see you happy. Have you heard from Keith?"

Karen shook her head. "No word so far. He didn't even show up for Dan's funeral."

"Dan's funeral?" Brooke asked shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"Nobody told you?"

"No!" Brooke cried. "I haven't been able to talk to anyone all summer. My parents were dragging me around to business parties, and random trips. They took my cell phone away, and I didn't have any money to buy calling cards or anything. Oh Karen it was horrible, it was like being in Prison. But I guess that's beside the point, what happened to Dan?"

"Somebody drugged him and burned the dealership while he was inside." Karen told her. "Well, actually not someone. Deb."

"Deb?" Brooke asked. That was too obvious. "Are you sure?"

Karen nodded. "She's in prison."

"Where's Nathan?" she asked surprised. "I can't believe nobody told me about any of this!"

"Haley came back. She quit the tour to be with Nathan. Nathan wouldn't take her back. Their marriage was annulled. Deb left him some money. He got his apartment back, but Haley had no where to go, so she begged to get back on the tour and they accepted." Karen told her.

"Wow." Brooke sighed. She slumped against the couch. "Maybe I should have stayed in California. Nobody here cares enough to tell me about anything."

Karen laughed. "Are you busy today?" she asked. "I could use some help at the café if you want."

Brooke shrugged. "If you don't mind, I'd like to catch up with everyone. Maybe say hello to Lucas, and spend some time with Peyton."

Karen accepted. "Have fun." She smiled. "Just know if you're looking for extra cash, to stop by the café."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Brooke drove into Nathan's apartment complex's driveway. It felt good to drive her car again. It had been parked at Karen's all summer. She knew that if she left it, at least some point she would have to come back and get it if her parents made her stay in California.

She climbed the stairs to his door and knocked slightly. Nathan opened the door with a towel around his waist and a beer in his hand. "Do you always open the door in a towel?" she asked smiling and walking in.

She sat down on the couch. Nathan closed the door and faced her. "Welcome back Brooke."

"Well thank you." She smiled. "I was just wondering if Lucas was here." She looked around. "Wow it looks different in here."

"No Lucas isn't here, and he never will be." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you two still haven't gotten over the whole brothers fighting thing?"

"He's not my brother." He said angrily. "Maybe you should go." He opened the door again.

"Whoa. I'm sorry. Calm down angry."

"Whatever." Nathan muttered. He watched Brooke leave and slammed the door. He just wanted to be left alone.

Brooke climbed in her car and sighed. "Wow. So much for a welcome home party." She said to herself. "What the hell am I going to do now?" she never had trouble before finding things to do in Tree Hill. Now she felt really alone. She really wanted to see Lucas but he was no where to be found.

Finally she decided to drive to the café. If nobody wanted to hang out with her today, she would go work for Karen. At least she would have some extra money to go shopping. When she opened the door she saw a skinny brunette girl sitting at the counter eating and talking to Karen.

Karen looked nervous when she saw Brooke walk in. "Hey Brooke. Did you change your mind?"

Brooke nodded. "I guess everyone else wasn't as excited as I was that I was coming back." She muttered. "I went to Nathan's; he bit my head off for asking where Lucas was. What do you need help with?" she asked sitting down next to the brunette.

"You know Lucas?" the girl turned to ask Brooke. She had sparkling blue eyes. She was gorgeous.

"Um, yeah. I'm sorry do I know you?" Brooke asked holding out her hand. "I'm Brooke."

"Brooke." The girl repeated. "Lucas' ex girlfriend." She shook her hand.

"I guess so," Brooke said hearing her call her Lucas' ex.

"I'm Aubrey." She smiled. "I'm Lucas' girlfriend."

Brooke could feel tears welling in her eyes but fought every urge to cry. She looked at Karen who didn't know what to say to her. "Oh. Well it's nice to meet you." Brooke smiled as sincere as possible. "I just remembered, I told Peyton I would meet her somewhere." She stood up and walked quickly away from the café.

"Well she was nice." Aubrey smiled at Karen.

Karen smiled back. "Yeah."


	2. The More You Talk, The Less I Hear

**Chapter Two**

"**The More You Talk, The Less I Hear."**

"Their words are flying over my head. I try and hear, but I'm somewhere else again. You laugh and I smile back to humor you. If it's good for you, it's good for me too." Brooke listened to the lyrics playing in Peyton's room as she stood in her doorway with tears in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked without so much as a hello.

Peyton looked up at her friend and put her drawing down. "I'm sorry." Was all that could escape her mouth. She knew she was talking about Aubrey. "I didn't think you should hear it from me."

"Did you think I should hear it from that skank Aubrey when I went to Karen's café" she asked. "Brooke, you're Lucas' ex." Brooke imitated.

"I'm sorry." Peyton sighed. "I wanted to tell you. I just didn't want to see your heart get broken again."

"At least it wasn't you." Brooke sighed. She fell on the bed next to Peyton. "Why does my life always get this way?"

Peyton shrugged. "I don't know."

"I'll scream till I bleed. I'll scream stay away from me. You can't keep me back, keep me back. I'll scream till I bleed, I'll scream stay away from me. You can't keep me back, keep me back. What did I say? Why do you give a shit?" the song played in the background.

"Who is this?" Brooke asked Peyton about the song.

"Armor for sleep." She told her. "The more you talk the less I hear."

"I like it." Brooke told her. She fell asleep while Peyton drew a picture of her.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Peyton sat down in front of her computer and typed an email. Brooke was still sleeping on her bed. She hadn't even been back for a whole day and already she was crashing at Peyton's. "I love you Jake." She signed the email and pressed send. She knew he wasn't going to reply but she made every attempt to try and keep in touch with him.

She had told him about the woman who claimed to be her mother. She had been struggling all summer with her thoughts about the woman. She hadn't told anyone. She finally emailed it to Jake. Part of her knew he would never get the email but she wanted to try.

The woman had sat on her door step only three months ago, telling her the story of how Peyton was her daughter. She told her the woman buried only miles from her house was her aunt. It didn't make sense to Peyton. Apparently her father got the woman, Ellie, pregnant. Ellie wasn't ready to raise a baby, so after she had Peyton she gave her to her father. Her father moved on, to Ellie's sister, and from then on Peyton thought she was being raised by her birth parents.

She had quickly dismissed Ellie from her life. She wanted nothing to do with her. If anything she said was true it didn't matter to Peyton. Her mother passed away years ago. Weather she gave birth to her or not, that was her mother.

Peyton wanted to ask her father but every time she saw him she was too happy to bring something like that up. So she let it be. She buried the woman in her thoughts and would never speak of her again, to anyone but Jake, if she ever saw him again.

Brooke stirred from the bed and saw Peyton typing. "Whatcha doin?" she asked. "How long have I been out for?"

"I was just sending Jake and email. You've been sleeping for a couple hours. You looked so peaceful. I didn't want to wake you."

"P. Sawyer. I have an amazing idea." She exclaimed. She grabbed Peyton by the arm and brought her out of the house and to her car.

"Where on earth are we going?" Peyton questioned grabbing her purse from the table on the way out.

"It's a secret." She smiled. "I promise a night full of fun though."

"Brooke, its Thursday. There is nothing to do on a Thursday." Peyton protested.

"Oh, that's what you think." She smiled driving quickly. "It's the last weekend of summer Peyton. There is always something to do."

The two girls pulled into Nathan's not too long later. "Nathan's?" Peyton rolled her eyes. "Brooke, what the hell?"

Brooke smiled at her friend and made her get out of the car. She banged on Nathan's door until finally he opened it.

"Twice in one day. To whom do I owe this honor?" Nathan asked rolling his eyes at Brooke. "Hey Peyton."

"Hey." Peyton smiled. She hadn't seen Nathan all summer. He had gotten back from High Flyers less than a week earlier. "This was Brooke's idea. I promise."

Nathan laughed. "Imagine that."

"So I was thinking. Since Peyton is mourning the loss of Fugitive boy and Jenny, and you're mourning the loss of dearly beloved. And well, I'm not mourning, but I got to meet Cheater boy's girlfriend Aubrey today. We should all get wasted and have our own party."

Nathan laughed. "Only you Brooke."

"Well, it's the truth isn't it?"

Peyton glanced at Nathan. "I guess she's kind of right."

"I'll get the beer." He sighed opening the fridge.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Nathan took the last shot of tequila and threw the bottle to the floor. "I win." He smiled.

Brooke threw her bottle on the floor and cried. "That's not fair, I only had one more shot left!" she giggled holding a lime in her hand.

Peyton shrugged. "I guess I'm just slow." She muttered at her bottle which still had quite a few shots left in the bottom.

Brooke giggled again. "Oh P. Sawyer, I love you." She smiled. She attempted to hug her but ended up putting her in a head lock.

"Hey!" Peyton cried pulling Brooke off of her. Both girls collapsed to the ground. "No more army moves."

Nathan laughed at them. "You two cannot handle your alcohol." He stood up to go to the kitchen and fell on top of both of them.

"Ha!" Brooke yelled. "Get off of me!" she cried.

Nathan laughed looking down at the two girls under him. "Well if this isn't the best fantasy ever, come true."

"Ew!" Brooke cried. "No!" she pushed him off of them.

"And we can't handle our alcohol." Peyton laughed.

The three of them sat on the floor drinking and laughing for hours until they fell asleep. Brooke had been right. It was exactly what they needed.


	3. Bleeding Heart

**Chapter Three**

"**Bleeding Heart"**

"Send it home, in a paper bag. Say things change. Maybe it's me. You can't fix me up. You can't fix me up. This bleeding heart. This bleeding heart. Found broke. My innocence. My Innocence. The bleeding heart. Lay me down. It grows cold." Brooke turned up the CD Peyton left in her CD player. Maybe Peyton's music wasn't so bad after all.

Brooke just dropped Peyton off after their night at Nathan's. She was on her way to Karen's. She knew when she got there it was going to be hell. Brooke hadn't so much as called Karen to let her know she wouldn't be home that night.

When she opened the door she saw Andy washing dishes in the sink. "Hi." She smiled at him.

"Brooke," he nodded.

"Is Karen home?" she whispered. He smiled and pointed to the living room. "Great, am I in trouble?"

Andy shrugged. "I think so."

"Thanks," She muttered going toward the living room. She found Karen sitting on the couch waiting for her. "I'm sorry." She said before Karen could say anything.

"Brooke."

"Seriously Karen, I'm sorry. I know I should have called."

"You should have come home."

"I know."

"Brooke, we were doing well before you left for California. I thought we had an understanding."

"We do." She promised. "I'm really sorry. I guess I was just upset about what happened yesterday. I spent the night at Nathan's with Peyton." She said honestly. "I know that I should have come home."

Karen nodded. "Okay."

"So I'm not in trouble?"

"Not this time." Karen promised. "But if it happens again."

"I know." Brooke smiled. "And Karen thanks." She called.

Karen joined Andy in the kitchen. "Brooke," she yelled. "Lucas is in his bedroom."

Brooke sighed. "Here goes" she said aloud. She knocked on his bedroom door.

"Come in," he called.

Brooke pushed the door open and saw Lucas sitting on the bed. Aubrey was sitting in his computer chair with her feet on the bed. Her long brown hair was covering the tiny little tank top she wore. She matched it to the jean skirt that was way too short for her. "Oh, I'm sorry." She said turning around to walk out.

"Brooke wait," Lucas called. "Come back."

"No thank you." She called passing through the kitchen. "I'll be back later Karen." She called storming out of the house.

Lucas stepped into the kitchen just after she left. "Damn it." He muttered under his breath.

Karen and Andy watched them. "Teenagers." Andy left. Karen kissed him and smiled.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Friday night and nothing to do. Brooke drove around aimlessly. She stopped by Peyton's but Peyton didn't want to go out. She stopped by Theresa's. Then she stopped by Bevin's. Neither of them wanted to go anywhere. "So much for partying for the last weekend of summer." She said to herself.

She drove passed the café and saw Aubrey walking down the street in the same outfit she had seen her in earlier. She pulled onto the side of the road and rolled down the window. "Need a ride?"

Aubrey thought for a second before climbing in the car. "You're not going to kill me or anything right?"

Brooke smiled deviously. "I hadn't thought about it until now."

Aubrey laughed nervously. "Look Brooke," she shifted in her seat so she faced her. "I know that you don't like me because I'm dating Lucas. I just wanted to let you know that I care about him a lot. I didn't know about you when we started dating. I actually didn't know much about you until Karen told me about you yesterday at the café. She wanted to warn me."

"Warn you? That's nice to know." Brooke muttered.

"Warn me that you still had feelings for Lucas." She said.

"Listen Audrey." She stopped the car and looked directly at her.

"Aubrey."

"Whatever. I do not have feeling toward Lucas. Lucas was the one who told me he loved me before I left." She lied. Of course she had feelings for Lucas. "I am upset that he didn't tell me about you."

"Okay." Aubrey accepted. She wasn't sure what to think. She was new to Tree Hill and didn't want Brooke hating her. "I'm sorry Brooke." She said climbing out of the car. "Thanks for the ride."

Brooke squealed her tires away from Aubrey and drove to Nathan's house.

"Are you going to make a habit out of this?" Nathan asked opening the door for her.

"No." Brooke remarked. "I just didn't know where else to go. Peyton's drawing, Bevin and Theresa suck, Lucas is, well who cares where Lucas is, and I just had a nice run in with Aubrey."

Nathan nodded. "Thanks for sharing all that with me."

"God Nathan don't be such a jackass. I know it runs in your family, but come on."

"Hey." He grabbed his chest pretending to be hurt. "What do you want me to do about it Brooke?"

"I don't know,"

"You want a beer?"

Brooke declined. "Got in a bit of trouble with Karen last night for not coming home."

Nathan laughed. "That sucks. Why don't you try the whole emancipation thing, it works out pretty nicely."

"Because unlike you Scott, I don't get money from my mommy anymore."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Don't talk about my mom."

"What's up with that anyway? Do you see her? How long is she put away for?"

"I think we should change the subject." He begged. He pulled a pizza out of the over. "Hungry?"

Brooke shook her head no. "I should go I guess. I could go back to Karen's and watch a movie or something."

"You could watch a movie here," he suggested "And you could make it home in time for your Karen curfew."

Brooke thought for a second. Would it be weird watching a movie with her ex boyfriend's brother? They had been friends too, somewhat. Actually when she thought about it, she hadn't been very nice to Nathan. She wished that she could change that. "Okay, let's watch a movie."

"Great." He smiled. "Best of Blowjobs two or Hot Lesbian Schoolgirls?"

Brooke looked at him disgusted. "You're kidding right?"

He laughed. "Wow for being Brooke Davis, you're way too uptight. How about Happy Gilmore?"

Brooke smiled. "Sure." She sat down on the couch next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad hanging out with Nathan after all.

Nathan looked at Brooke lying on his shoulder and smiled. He laughed. Brooke Davis. Always full of surprises.


	4. Whole New World

_I'm updating against my will. I have lots of chapters written but I usually refuse to update unless someone writes a review to the last chapter. However, I see that tons of people have been reading my story just not reviewing. Do you not like it? Let me know and I'll continue to update.-Brittney_

**Chapter Four**

"**Whole New World"**

"Just because we're abandoned, doesn't mean we're alone. Falling down when we're empty. Because I know, yes I know. Nothing here really matters; nothing helps when you're lost. Break me down to an atom, because I know, yes I know. It's a whole new different world." The song by Midtown blasted from Peyton's car as she drove into the parking lot of the school.

Brooke jumped out of the passenger seat smiling. "Thanks for the ride friend!" she walked ahead of her into the crowd of people rushing to get inside. "Even if I had to listen to your depressing lyrics all the way there."

Peyton laughed. "Brooke, they applied perfectly to you. You'll call my house later and ask what the song was so you can download it and you know it," Peyton tried to catch up to her. "Why are you walking so fast?"

"Avoiding something," she said eyeing Lucas walking toward them. "I've been doing really good at it so far, don't want to ruin it."

"How have you avoided him all weekend? You live with him."

"Every time he comes near me I leave." She told her. "See-ya bye" she waved sad she had to leave her best friend on the first day of their senior year. She watched as Lucas joined Peyton's side.

"Where have you been?" Lucas asked her watching Brooke walk away from them.

"I don't know, around." She lied. The truth was; she had been avoiding Lucas too. She didn't want Brooke to be mad at her. She spent so much time with him over the summer, she missed his friendship but she missed Brooke's more.

"Sure," Lucas accepted.

"Where's Aubrey?" Peyton asked looking around for Lucas's girlfriend. "I haven't officially met her yet."

Lucas shook his head. "No way." He sighed. "She just met Brooke, she's going to have to wait on you."

"Why?" Peyton asked offended.

"I didn't really talk about our history. Not you and me, me and her. Wow that made no sense. Aubrey and I didn't talk about our love history." He spit out.

"You're beginning to sound like Brooke."

Lucas flinched at the sound of her name. "You'll meet her soon I'm sure." He told her. "Ready for the first day of school?"

"I guess so." She said as they entered the building.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Nathan sat down in his first class and saw Brooke chatting with a couple guys in front of him. She looked back and smiled at him. He smiled back. Obviously their movie night two nights ago wasn't going to be spoken of again. He watched as the teacher came into the room and started to take attendance. He called a few names before he said it, "Haley James/Scott?"

Everyone looked around the room but heard no cry from Haley. Clearly she wasn't returning to school. 'Mr. Scott, do you happen to know where Mrs. Scott is?" he asked Nathan.

Nathan sighed and caught another look from Brooke. "Ms. James?" he questioned.

The teacher looked down at the paper again and back up. "Mrs. James/Scott?"

"It's Ms. James." Nathan said allowed. He was getting looks from all of his classmates by this time. "My guess is as good as yours. We're divorced."

The teacher nodded. "Okay," he sighed. Nathan could tell what he was thinking. Married at 17, crazy. Of course that's what he was thinking. Divorced at 17, even more crazy, was what Nathan was thinking. This was going to be a wonderful day, he thought to himself. Just wonderful.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Peyton sat down with Brooke at a lunch table outside. Brooke was drawing stick figures on the cover of a book. "Need some art lessons?" Peyton joked.

"Very funny." Brooke napped.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Brooke lied.

"Come on Brooke Davis. I know when something is wrong with my best friend."

"You're right," Brooke said putting the pencil down. "I can't stop thinking about that Aubrey chick." She said pointing across the grass to the beautiful brunette walking toward them.

"That's her?" Peyton asked surprised.

"I know, she's gorgeous isn't she?"

"Well, she is pretty," Peyton admit.

"That's exactly what I mean!" Brooke cried. "Do you think Lucas picked her because she's prettier than me?"

"Brooke Davis!" Peyton exclaimed. "She is not prettier than you and you know that. Since when did you start second guessing yourself?"

"Since she came along." She faked a smile as Aubrey sat down at the table.

"Hi," Aubrey said softly. "Brooke right?"

Brooke nodded. "You know my name."

"Right." She sighed. "I'm sorry, I don't think I know you," she said to Peyton. "I'm Aubrey."

"Lucas's girlfriend," Brooke muttered.

"Right." Aubrey said again.

"Peyton," she shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Whatever," Brooke commented.

Aubrey smiled slightly to Peyton and nodded. "I'll let you two be, bye."

Peyton collapsed in a heap of giggles after she left.

"P. Sawyer you are not laughing!" Brooke yelled angrily.

"I'm sorry, but what's with the comments?"

Brooke smiled. "Fine, whatever, they were stupid. I just don't like her."

Peyton smiled. "Come on, let's go back to school." She grabbed her friend by the arm. "Everything is going to be fine. She is not prettier than you. You're hot and you know it."

"I know," Brooke pouted. "I just don't like her."

"I know, I know." Peyton agreed. "I know."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Nathan threw his jersey over his head as he ran into the gym. He caught a glimpse of Peyton and Brooke stretching before their cheerleading practice. He grabbed a basketball and started shooting hoops. He noticed Lucas coming in right behind him. "This should be fun," he said aloud. "Déjà vu?" he asked Lucas.

Lucas ignored him and kept shooting. He made a basket and then walked over to Nathan. "Are you ever going to talk to me?" Lucas asked.

Nathan shook his head. "I didn't really have any plans of it."

"Fine man, whatever!" he muttered going back to shooting hoops.

Nathan stopped shooting when he saw an unfamiliar brunette enter the gym wearing a pair of short black shorts and a white tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she was holding a set of Pom, Pom's.

"No way!" he watched Brooke exclaim to Peyton. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Give her a chance," Peyton whispered. "Maybe she's good."

Lucas stopped short and was watching the girls also.

"Who is that?" Nathan asked.

"Aubrey." Lucas told him.

"You're girlfriend?" Nathan asked. Lucas nodded.

"Now this should be interesting."


	5. Yesterday's Feelings

**Chapter Five**

"**Yesterday's Feelings"**

"Close my eyes and move to the back of my mind, where worries are washed out to sea, see the changes, people's faces blurred out. Like the sun spots or raindrops. Now all those feelings, those yesterdays' feelings will all be lost in time. But today I've wasted away for today is on my mind." The radio in the gym played the song loudly by "The Used."

"This song fits me perfectly," Brooke told Peyton while they sat on the bleachers watching the guys practice.

"Brooke you'd be surprised how many different songs that I listen to fit you. I know you think my music is crap, but once in a while it actually feels like it means something," Peyton smiled. She saw Aubrey sitting alone in front of them. "Are you sure we shouldn't give Aubrey a chance?"

"You did not just ask me that." Brooke snapped. "Are you kidding?"

Peyton shook her head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." She sighed. "Just imagine if you were new here and nobody would talk to you, and the most popular girl in school hated you."

Brooke thought for a second. "That would be horrible. However, nobody would hate me, because I wouldn't jump in and steal someone's boyfriend."

"Oh really?" Peyton asked her.

"What's that supposed to mean Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer?" she asked angrily. "You're the boyfriend stealer!"

"Hey! I was just thinking about that girl at cheerleading camp. When you made out with her boyfriend, you wondered why she hated you so much and not the guy."

Brooke thought about this and nodded. "You're right." She sighed. "God I hate when you're right." She stood up from the bleacher and walked down to Aubrey. "Hey." She said quietly not wanting to draw any attention to her.

"Hey," Aubrey smiled. "Come to bash me?"

Brooke shook her head. "I came to see if you want to go to the mall with Peyton & me after practice."

Aubrey looked at her with caution. She glanced at Peyton who shrugged. "Sure." She accepted.

"Great!" Brooke smiled. "Meet you out front!" she jumped off the bench and ran threw the middle of practice, getting an evil look from Whitey.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Brooke threw her last purchase into the car and smiled with satisfaction. "I love that my parents gave me my credit card back!"

Aubrey laughed. She dropped almost as much cash as Brooke. She had to admit, Brooke had some pretty good taste when it came to shopping.

Peyton smiled at the two girls getting along. They had more in common then Brooke even knew. They were practically the same person. Peyton climbed in the passenger seat and looked out the window.

"What's going on with you and Nathan Scott?" Aubrey asked Brooke with a smile.

Brooke looked shocked. "Excuse me?"

Peyton caught a glimpse of the Brooke Davis defensive face. "Brooke?" she smiled. "What is she talking about?"

Aubrey laughed a little. "I saw you too giving each other look all afternoon at practice. If I didn't know better I'd say you had a little crush on Lucas's brother."

Brooke shook her head laughing. "Not at all."

"If that's your story." Aubrey laughed. She didn't believe it at all.

Peyton caught a nervous look from Brooke and smiled. Aubrey was right. "You have something for my ex boyfriend don't you!" Peyton accused. "You little slut!"

"Hey! I am not a slut, and second of all, remember when you had something for MY boyfriend?" Brooke accused back.

"So you are admitting it?" Peyton smiled.

"No!" Brooke smiled. "Okay well maybe something. He is hot."

"Slut."

"Whore," Brooke replied.

Aubrey sat listening to the two friends laugh back and forth. Peyton had something for Brooke's boyfriend? She wondered who it was. "Seems like everybody dates everybody around here huh?" Aubrey asked.

"Oh yeah." Peyton nodded.

"Did Lucas tell you about his friend Haley?" Brooke asked.

Aubrey shook her head no.

"You should hear that one."

Peyton smiled. "Haley married Nathan. Then she left him to go on tour with Chris Keller and The Wreckers. Then they got divorced. Now he's sleeping with Brooke apparently."

"He is not!" Brooke yelled.

"Wow. I love the Wreckers. Did Haley date Lucas?" Aubrey asked.

Peyton shook her head. "Haley was dating Nathan while Brooke and I were dating Lucas."

Brooke let out a small cry. "I hope you know what you just said." 

"You were both dating Lucas?" Aubrey asked.

"Shit." Peyton cried. "Um, that's not what I meant."

"Your caught Sawyer, give it up." Brooke laughed.

Aubrey looked at them confused. She had a feeling this Brooke girl was going to get her into a lot of trouble.


	6. Until The Day I Die

Chapter Six

"Until The Day I Die"

"Until the day I die. I'd spill my heart for you." Story of the year sang loudly. Peyton jumped up and down in the crowd. Surprisingly Nathan invited her to the concert. He won tickets on the internet through some contest and new Peyton would love to go. 

"I'm so glad you invited me." Peyton smiled after the concert as she walked to the car with Nathan. "Why did you decide to come with?" she asked eyeing him. "You hate my lame music remember?"

"You're right. I do hate your music, but I wanted to hang out with you." He told her. "I miss being friends with you Peyton, and I know that you're hurting with Jake leaving. Plus, if you found out that I took someone else to one of your favorite band's concerts you would kill me."

Peyton nodded. "It's nice to hang out with you too. I love hanging out with Brooke too, but when we're together all we do is talk about heartbreak. It was nice to hang out and get my mind off of things." She said climbing into the passenger seat of the car.

"Brooke's really upset over Lucas huh?"

"Yeah." She told him. "She told me she was just surprised. Even if she didn't have feelings for Lucas when she left I guess she's just hurt because he moved on so quickly. Again."

"That sucks for her."

"Can I tell you a secret?" Peyton giggled turning to look at him.

"Sure, spill your heart," he said making fun of her excitement.

"Brooke has a little crush on another Scott boy."

"Me?" Nathan asked surprised.

Peyton nodded. "No your dad, who did you think I was talking about? She told Aubrey and I yesterday."

Nathan flinched at his dad's name. He hadn't talked to anyone about his feelings toward his mom killing his dad. He tried to ignore it. "Aubrey?" he asked. "Brooke was hanging out with Aubrey?"

Peyton nodded again. "What has the world come to?" she asked. "Brooke Davis, and Nathan Scott. I should have seen that one coming. You two are perfect for each other. Now that I think about it, I don't see why you haven't hooked up before."

Nathan smiled slyly. "We have."

"What?" Peyton smiled. "She told me you weren't having sex!"

"It was before you." He laughed. "It was just a drunken night at a party. I don't think Brooke really even remembers because she's never said anything."

"Oh," Peyton laughed again. "Interesting, so do you think you could ever be into her?"

Nathan laughed. "I've never really thought about it actually."

"Think about it." Peyton told him climbing out of the car at her house. "Thanks again for taking me. It was awesome."

"Welcome!" Nathan called driving away from her house.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Brooke sat down on Lucas' bed waiting for him to come home. Finally after hours of waiting he walked through the door. "Hey," she smiled. "Kind of late don't you think?"

Lucas stared at her as if he were surprised she wasn't his mother. "Does my mom know?" he asked looking at the clock which read two am.

Brooke shook her head. "She's been asleep for hours. I told her I went in to talk to you and you were sleeping, so she didn't check."

"Thanks." Lucas smiled. "That was nice of you."

"I'd expect the same in return."

"Always." He promised. "So what's up, why are you waiting for me?"

"I thought maybe we could talk for a little bit." She suggested. "About what you told me before I left, my summer, and where we're at right now."

Lucas nodded. He sat down on the bed next to her. "When I told you how I felt, I wasn't lying. It's just, I didn't hear from you all summer. I thought you just wanted to be friends. Then I met Aubrey, and," he paused. "I fell in love with her."

Brooke held back the tears forming in her eyes. As much as she wanted to be completely over Lucas it still hurt to hear those words. She nodded. "I just want to let you know first of all, when I left, I felt the same way about you. I just didn't know how to tell you. I wasn't ready to get my heart broken again. I didn't call you all summer, and I'm sorry for that. I was really busy. I didn't even talk to Peyton. My parents were dragging me around on stupid trips. I hated it. But even though I still had feelings for you when I came back, I've talked to Aubrey. She's a great girl, and I know what you see in her. I'm really happy for you Lucas."

Lucas smiled. "I'm so sorry Brooke."

Brooke nodded, "It's okay." She accepted. "Aubrey's great. Peyton and I hung out with her yesterday at the mall. She's really a lot like me."

Lucas laughed. "Shopping," he rolled his eyes. "What I'd give to be rich."

"Me too." She sighed. "If you haven't forgotten I gave up money to live here. My parents hardly give me anything. They gave my credit card back, but it has a limit now."

"That's right," Lucas remembered. "I'm glad we had this talk Brooke. Hopefully we can go back to being friends again?"

"Friends." She repeated. She hugged him and left him to go to sleep.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Brooke sat down in her second day of her first class. She picked a desk next to Nathan and smiled at him. "Hello there." She giggled. "Whatcha doing?"

"Homework." Nathan told her.

"What a concept." She smiled. "Whatcha doing later?"

Nathan looked up from his paper and stared at her. "Nothing, why?"

"Thought maybe me and you could hang out." She suggested. "I know this great place."

Nathan thought about what Peyton told him. He shrugged it off the day before. Brooke was great. He thought about the day they watched a movie together. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but her head on his shoulder must have meant at least something more than friends to her. "Like a date?" he asked.

"Nice try Scott. Like a friendship." She laughed.

Nathan suddenly felt stupid. He reminded himself to yell at Peyton for putting those ideas in his head. "Just checking." Nathan joked. "Sure, we can hang out tonight."

"Great." She smiled. "Pick me up at seven."

Nathan nodded. "Davis, you're something else."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Brooke finished putting on her make up and smiled in satisfaction. "Am I hot or am I hot?" she asked Peyton who sat on her bed watching her.

"You're hot." Peyton laughed. "What would you have done if I told you you're ugly?"

"Told you, you were wrong," Brooke laughed. She was dressed in a short black skirt with boots up to her knees. She had a red sleeveless shirt which hung low in the chest over a red bra. Her hair hung curled in small ringlets below her shoulders. "I look like I'm going on a date."

"You are, aren't you?" Peyton asked.

Brooke shook her head no. "Well, yes, but I told Nathan it wasn't a date."

Peyton laughed. "Oh Brooke Davis, what am I going to do with you?"

"I don't know Ms. Sawyer, what am I going to do with you? We should get you a date." She suggested.

Peyton shook her head. "No way. I'm not ready for the dating scene."

"Oh yes you are," Brooke muttered. "Yes, yes, you are." She smiled. "We'll work on that later. Nathan is out front, I have to go." She kissed her friend on the cheek. "Wish me luck."

"Don't forget condoms!" Peyton called after her.


	7. Burning Photographs

**I just want to say thank you for the reviews I got. I started to think nobody liked the story since nobody was reviewing it. I was going to quit all together. But I'm back. Here's chapter seven, please review  . I will have a couple updates today, but I won't be able to update again until Monday. A severe storm knocked out power at my house for a few days. There is a power line and tree on our house. I can only update from work. Thanks-Brittney**

Chapter Seven

"Burning Photographs"

Peyton watched out the window as Brooke climbed into Nathan's car. It was funny that Brooke got ready at Peyton's so Lucas didn't know she was going on a date with Nathan. She reached over on her dresser and looked at a picture of her, Brooke and Lucas so long ago. She smiled. She missed the days when the three of them could be friends without the drama of dating.

"Pretty pictures in a magazine. Everybody is so make believe, it's true. I used to be sad, now I'm just bored with you. You're doomed to repeat the past. 'Cause nothing is gonna last. I burned all your photographs." Peyton wrote the Bryan Adam's lyrics across her wall and hung the picture. She laughed. "I am so depressing." She said to herself.

"No you're not." A voice behind her said quietly. "I think you're perfect."

"Jake?" Peyton asked smiling. "Oh my God, Jake!" she cried. She ran to him and hugged him. "I can't believe you're really here!"

"I'm here to stay." He promised. "I got full custody of Jenny. Nikki is in jail."

"Oh my God Jake, that's great!" she could feel the tears streaming down her face.

Jake cupped her chin in his hands and kissed her softly on the lips. "Now we can be together," he whispered.

Peyton smiled wiping the tears from her face. "Wow." She whispered back. "I feel like my heart just stopped."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Brooke smiled as she instructed Nathan to pull into the parking lot on the left. They had driven for over an hour. They finally arrived at a large building which read "Game Works" across the top.

Nathan laughed a little bit. "Brooke, there is a Game Works just outside of Tree Hill." Game Works was a huge arcade and bar.

"I know," she smiled. "There's a special event going on at this one." She told him.

Nathan shrugged. He opened the door and let Brooke out of the car. Brooke said it wasn't a date but it sure felt like it. The two of them walked toward the arcade when Nathan saw a large poster on the front of the door. The poster was an advertisement for the North Carolina "Tar Heels' basketball team. They would be signing autographs for the evening. He looked down at Brooke and smiled. "How did you know about this?"

"It's a secret." She smiled.

Nathan grabbed her arm and pulled her to hug him. "Thank you." He whispered. They entered the arcade.

The arcade was full of people waiting to get autographs. Some people sat at the bar drinking, and there were a few people playing games. The basketball team sat at large tables signing autographs. There were TV cameras and news crews everywhere.

"Ms. Davis." A man walked up to her and Nathan. "I'm glad you came."

The man turned to Nathan. "Matt Doherty," he said shaking his hand.

"I know who you are," Nathan smiled shaking his hand. "You coach the Tar Heels. I'm Nathan."

Matt nodded. "It was nice to meet you Nathan. And Brooke, I hope we'll see you both after the signing at the party?"

"Of course you will Matt." Brooke promised.

After Matt walked away Nathan looked at Brooke with confusion. "What is going on Brooke Davis? Who do you know Matt Doherty?" he asked.

Brooke smiled at him shyly. "Oh come on Scott. I'm Brooke Davis, I can know anybody if I want to."

"Come on," Nathan begged grabbing her arm. "Seriously how do you know him?"

"Fine." Brooke pouted. "He's a client of my dad's. I don't really know what they do together, but my dad said he had two tickets to go to the signing and after party." She told him. "He asked me if I wanted to take Lucas. Apparently he heard something about Lucas and I a while back. I told him I'd rather take someone else, so he gave me the tickets."

"Wow," Nathan smiled. "Thank you."

Brooke nodded. "Your welcome Scott, but trust me, you'll owe me later." She winked. "Let's go have some fun."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Peyton held Jake in her arms for hours as they lay in her bed. "I can't believe you're really here." She repeated the words she said to him early.

Jake smiled. "I'm so glad to be with you." He whispered. "Do you want to go somewhere?" he asked.

"Sure," Peyton smiled, she reached over to grab her ringing phone. "Hang on. Hello?" she answered. "Oh hey Lucas. Yeah, Jake's actually back. Um, let me check. I'll see if he wants to go and call you back." She hung up the phone.

"Lucas?" Jake asked.

Peyton nodded. "He asked me, well actually now us, if we want to go out to eat with him and Aubrey."

"Aubrey?"

"Yeah," Peyton laughed. "I know this isn't going to make any sense, but Aubrey is Lucas' girlfriend."

"Interesting," Jake laughed. "Guess I've missed a lot."

Peyton nodded. "Well, what do you say? Dinner?"

"Sure," Jake accepted.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Aubrey and Lucas sat on one side of the booth and Peyton and Jake sat on the other. They decided to go to "Eric's." a local sports bar and grill.

Everyone ordered their food and Peyton held tightly onto Jake's hand. "So, what have you two been up to today?" she asked Lucas and Aubrey.

"Lucas and I went to Charleston to go shopping," Aubrey told her. "It was a good time."

Peyton smiled, "Shopping, imagine that?" She rolled her eyes simultaneously with Lucas.

"What have you and Jake been doing?" Aubrey asked insinuating something.

Jake smiled and kissed Peyton on the cheek. "I just got into town around noon. I brought Jenny to my parents and went to see Peyton."

"It's great that you're back man," Lucas told him. He stopped talking and pointed up to the big screen TV on the wall. "What I would have killed to be there tonight," he muttered.

The TV was broadcasting an autograph signing from the North Carolina Tar Heels. Peyton suddenly got nervous. "Yeah, so anyway," She tried to distract Lucas from the TV.

Lucas continued to watch the broadcast, and now Jake was watching too. They suddenly looked confused when they saw Nathan and Brooke holding autographs and smiling at each other. "That's Nathan and Brooke!" he cried.

"Yeah it is!" Jake laughed. "Nathan and Brooke went to the autograph signing?" Everyone immediately looked at Peyton for answers.

"Um," she started. "Brooke got two tickets from her dad, and sort of asked Nathan on a date." She let out the secret.

Lucas looked at her in amazement. He couldn't control the way he was feeling. He was upset, angry and sick all at the same time.


	8. Tiny Vessels

_Hell yes! After I sent in chapter six I was bombarded with Reviews. It was amazing. I love the reviews I get from the readers, so always, send more. I really liked the Brathan scenes in this chapter. I hope you do too! Let me know!-Brittney_

Chapter Eight

"Tiny Vessels"

"This is the moment, that you know. That you told her that you loved her but you don't. You touch her skin, and then you think. She is beautiful but she don't mean a thing to me. She is beautiful, but she don't mean a thing to me."

Aubrey listened to the words playing from Lucas' car CD player. "What song is this?" she asked.

"Tiny Vessels, by Death Cab for Cutie." Lucas told her.

"Kind of ironic don't you think?" they were on their way home from eating with Peyton and Jake.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucas asked.

"Nothing," Aubrey lied.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked knowing she was lying. "What are you talking about?"

Aubrey sighed. "It's kind of obvious that you still have feelings for Brooke." She pointed out. "I saw how upset you got that she was with your brother."

Lucas stopped the car and pulled onto the side of the road. "I don't have feelings for Brooke." He told her.

"I know about you and Peyton."

"What? What about me and Peyton? We're friends."

"Now." She cried. She could feel tears rolling down her cheeks. "You're friends now. We're you just friends when you were with Brooke?" she asked.

Lucas looked angrily at her but didn't speak. He had no idea what to say.

"Peyton accidentally told me, when I went shopping with her and Brooke. Were you going to keep it from me forever?" she asked.

Lucas sighed, "Look Aubrey, I care for you more than you could ever know. What happened between Peyton, Brooke and I is over. I don't have feelings for Brooke."

"Why should I believe you Lucas?" she asked. "You probably told Brooke the same thing. Plus, I saw how upset you were that she was with Nathan. Not to mention the fact that she lives with you!"

"I was upset because it's Nathan. Brooke knows how much I've always wanted to meet the Tar Heels. I guess it was just strange." He told her. "And she's not going to be living with me for long. We're moving in with Andy soon."

Aubrey looked surprised. "When were you going to tell me this Lucas?" she asked. "You don't tell me anything. It's not going to work. Not if you can't be honest with me." She yelled.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Brooke sat quietly in the car as Nathan drove back to Tree Hill. Neither of them had spoken since they left the party. Nathan had really enjoyed himself. He got autographs from everyone on the team, hung out with them, and had one of them help him improve his jump shot.

"Why are you so quiet?" Brooke asked.

Nathan smiled. "I don't know what to say." And for the first time that was the truth. He always managed to say the wrong things when he was with Haley, and even with Peyton. For the first time, he honestly couldn't think of a word to say.

Brooke smiled. She was happy Nathan had fun. In the process of their adventure she started to like him more and more. It scared her. There were so many complications to their relationship, or friendship for that matter. What if Haley came back? What about Lucas? Nathan dated her best friend, and she wasn't about to get back into a triangle with her. Maybe it would be better for them both if she didn't mention anything in a more than friendly matter. Who was she kidding? Brooke Davis didn't think that way.

The two of them pulled into Lucas' driveway. Nathan opened the door for her and stood outside the car. Brooke held her arms against her chest to block the rain starting to fall. "Here," Nathan said grabbing a hooded sweatshirt from his car, giving it to her.

"Thank you," she smiled. "Look Nathan, I hope that you don't take this the wrong way," she started to say.

Nathan watched the movement of her mouth but didn't hear a word she said. She was gorgeous. He had always thought Brooke was hot, but he never thought there could be anything behind the dumb cheerleader act she put on. Then again, maybe she thought there was nothing behind the dumb basketball athlete act he put on. He grabbed her by the arm, pulled her close to him and kissed her.

Brooke felt herself smiling as Nathan's tongue traced her lips. She softly bit his lip and pulled away. "Wow," she whispered.

"Yeah." Nathan whispered back.

Brooke held tightly onto his sweatshirt and turned away from him, walking into the house without another word.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"Do you have to leave?" Peyton asked Jake sadly.

Jake stood in her doorway smiling. "Peyton, I'll be back tomorrow." He told her. "I have to go home and see my parents, and Jenny."

"Haven't you seen your parents?" Peyton asked. "Didn't they go for your court hearings?"

Jake nodded, "They came for them, and left right away. They couldn't afford to stay for a long time." He told her.

Peyton shrugged, "Alright," she kissed him softly. "But you have to promise me you will come back."

"I promise." He told her. "I'll come back in the morning before you go to school. I'll bring Jenny. Then I have to go try and get back into school again."

"I can't wait." She smiled. "I can't wait."

She watched as he left her room. This time she wasn't sad when he left. She knew he was going to come back. She was even more in love with him now. She grabbed the phone off the bed and picked it up. She heard no dial tone. "Hello?"

"Peyton it's me." Brooke said on the other line.

"Oh hey," Peyton laughed. "I picked up the phone to call you, and you were already there."

Brooke laughed. "That's odd. Listen, I have to tell you something. Nathan kissed me!" she cried.

"That's great Brooke!" Peyton laughed. She wanted to be happy for her friend, but she didn't really care that much. She was too excited that Jake was back. "Jake's back."

"Really?" Brooke squealed. "That's great Pey! Oh my God. I didn't interrupt I miss you sex did I?"

"No," Peyton laughed. "He went home to be with his parents and Jenny. He's coming back in the morning before school." She told her.

"Oh, that's great!" Brooke smiled. "I guess I should get some rest."

"Hey Brooke," Peyton stopped her from hanging up.

"What?"

"Before you go. I just want to tell you that I think it's great if you're going to date Nathan or whatever. I hope that it works out. There is just one thing. Lucas saw you on the news tonight. He's kind of upset."

"I don't care," Brooke laughed. "I was on the news?" she giggled. "Did I look hot? I hope that I didn't have make up all over my face. Oh my God, what if I wasn't smiling? Anyway, Lucas had his chance. Good night Sawyer."

"Goodnight." Peyton laughed hanging up the phone. Both her and Brooke were truly happy for the first time in a long time.


	9. Speechless

**Chapter Nine**

"**Speechless"**

"Do you like 'Self Against City'?" Peyton asked Lucas walking up beside him in the hallway at school.

Lucas told her yes.

"Listen to these lyrics," Peyton told him handing him her head phones.

"Just when I, assume that everything's alright, you're gone again, I'm gonna spend my whole life wondering, why you give yourself away, to everyone and now there's nothing left of you, There will come a day, when everything will come right back down to you." Lucas listened.

"Speechless." She told him.

"That's a good song, but why are you playing it for me?"

"Because Jake's back." She smiled. "And it makes me think of him."

Lucas smiled and hugged her. "I'm glad you're happy," he told her. His smile faded when he saw Aubrey coming down the hall with Brooke.

"What's wrong?" Peyton asked.

Lucas nodded toward the two of them. "That. Aubrey thinks I still have feelings for Brooke because somebody told her about us being together when I was with Brooke."

"Sorry," Peyton sighed. "It was an accident. It's kind of strange that the two of them are together though don't you think?"

Lucas nodded. "It is kind of strange. I guess they're a lot alike though."

Peyton hit him in the side. "See ya later," she smiled walking into her classroom. Lucas just nodded. He was focused on Brooke and Aubrey.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

Nathan watched Brooke sit down in a desk in front of him. She was late for class as usual. Only today, she was hoping she would be. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her.

"Ms. Davis," the teacher said handing her a piece of paper. "That's your third tardy this week. I guess we'll be seeing you in detention."

"What?" Brooke exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? Come on Mr. Taylor I was thirty seconds late!"

"You're always thirty seconds late Brooke." He smiled. "See you after school."

Brooke pouted and laid her head down on the desk. She quickly jolted up when she remembered Nathan was sitting behind her. She turned around to face him. "Hey." She smiled.

"Hey," Nathan smiled back nervously.

"Sucks about detention, wanna join me?" she suggested playfully.

Nathan shook his head. "No thanks, I have practice after school."

"Shit! So do I!" she exclaimed loudly catching another look from the teacher. "Sorry," she said. She turned back around in her desk.

"Brooke," Nathan whispered trying to get her to turn back around. "I had fun last night."

"I did too," she smiled.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

"Nathan," a girl whispered as Nathan walked by the janitors closet. "Come here,"

Nathan turned around and felt himself being pulled into the closet. "Brooke?" he asked making sure it was her.

"No, it's Aubrey," she whispered.

"Um, okay. What do you want?" he asked. He had never really met her he just knew she was Lucas' girlfriend.

"You," she whispered in his ear. She kissed the back of his neck and bit his earlobe.

Nathan stood there unsure of what to do. His question was answered when he saw the door open and the principal standing in the doorway. "Mr. Scott, Ms. Miller." He smiled. "Look's like you'll both be in detention this afternoon."

Nathan looked at Aubrey with fire in his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed. "This is ridiculous." He walked out of the closet leaving Aubrey by himself and stormed down the hall.

"Nathan, wait up!" Peyton called to him. She was running all the way down the hall to catch up with him. "What's wrong?" she asked touching his arm.

Nathan moved away from her. "Everything," he said. He slammed the door of the classroom and sat down in a desk."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

Brooke sat down in the back of the detention room and pulled out a magazine. "Hey Mrs. Write." She said to the teacher sitting in the front of the room.

"Brooke," she smiled. "Haven't seen you in over a week. Where have you been?"

"Oh you know," Brooke smiled. "I guess when you skip school you can't get detention."

Mrs. Write rolled her eyes. "Since you're the only one here anyway, why don't you just go home?"

Brooke smiled. "Well thank you gorgeous. You just made my day." As Brooke stood up to leave the room her smile faded when Nathan and Aubrey walked in.

"Sorry Brooke, look's like you're going to have to stay."

Brooke sat back down in the desk. "I could kill you both right now!" she muttered pulling her magazine back out. "What are you doing here Scott?"

Nathan sat down next to her and shook his head. "Don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," Brooke sighed. "What crawled up your ass and died?" Nathan motioned toward Aubrey. Brooke immediately jumped up. "What?"

"She pulled me into the janitors closet and tried to make out with me." He told her.

"Oh no she didn't!" Brooke exclaimed. She jumped up from her seat and grabbed Aubrey by the hair. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What?" Aubrey asked pushing Brooke away from her.

"For one thing, you're with Lucas, and for another thing, you're NOT with Nathan."

"Last I knew, you weren't either." She smiled at Nathan. "And the last time I talked to Lucas, he wanted you, not me."

Brooke looked at her with confusion and so did Nathan. "What?" she asked.

"Lucas freaked out when he saw you two on TV at that autograph signing. He wants you Brooke, not me."

Brooke closed her eyes. She could not believe what she was hearing. "Yeah, well, Lucas had his chance. I've moved on."

"To what?" Aubrey smiled.

Brooke looked at her with a dead stare. "Don't push me Aubrey."

Mrs. Write was watching from her desk but not speaking.

"Prove it." Aubrey told her. "Prove that you don't want Lucas too."

Brooke shook her head. She walked over to Nathan, bent down and kissed him. "Happy?" she asked.

Mrs. Write stood up now. "That's enough!" she cried. "This is detention!"

Brooke smiled at her. "Mrs. Write, do you mind if Nathan and I get out of here."

"Oh whatever," she said. "Don't tell anyone."


	10. Get Busy Living, Or Get Busy Dying

**Chapter Ten **

**"Get Busy Living, Or Get Busy Dying"**

**(Do your part to save the scene and stop going to shows)**

"You're secrets out. I know its hurts, it was meant to. You're secrets out, and the best part is it isn't even a good one, and it's mind over you (don't) matter." The **Fall Out Boy** song blasted over Lucas's room.

"Nice song," Aubrey muttered walking in and sitting down on the bed. "Busy?"

Lucas looked up from his computer and shook his head. "Not really."

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I didn't mean to get so upset the other day."

Lucas just nodded.

"I hope that we can work things out Lucas. I mean, if you want to be with me still." She told him.

Lucas looked up at her and shook his head. "I don't think so Aubrey."

"Why?" Aubrey asked confused.

"I know about Nathan." He told her.

"Okay," she accepted. "Can I ask how?"

"How do you think?" Lucas asked.

"Brooke?"

"Bingo." He handed her a picture of him and Aubrey in the end of the summer. They were standing on the beach smiling and holding hands. "You can have this back."

Aubrey took the picture and nodded. "Okay."

OOOOOOOOOO

"Well hello gorgeous!" Brooke smiled walking into Peyton's bedroom and jumping on her bed.

Peyton stood in her closet staring at her. "What are you doing here?" she asked smiling. She was standing in a towel looking at her clothes.

"Well, I came first to see how you and fugitive boy are doing, and second, to talk to you about Lucas."

"First of all," Peyton smiled throwing a shirt over her head. "Jake is good. And second, what about Aubrey? I thought you liked her now?"

Brooke sat up in the bed. "She.." she started to say when she saw Jake walk into the room. He was wearing his boxers and holding a towel in his hand. "Oh my God!" she cried holding her hand over her eyes. "I am so sorry, and I am so out of here!"

"Brooke wait," Peyton, cried but Brooke didn't stop walking.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Nathan opened the door to his apartment to see the rain coming down in sheets. He ran to his car and drove to the beach. When he parked the car he saw Brooke sitting in the sand. He quickly grabbed a jacket from his backseat and ran out to her. "What are you doing?" he called to her sitting down next to her with the jacket over their heads.

Brooke looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He could tell she was freezing. "What are you doing here?" she asked him the same question.

"I drove to the beach to think." He told her.

"Obviously that's what I did too." She laughed. "Sorry but that was kind of a stupid question."

Nathan shook his head and put his arm around her. "Oh Brooke Davis what am I going to do with you?"

The rain started to slow down and Brooke stood up from the sand. "Do you want to go swimming?" she suggested at the water.

"I am in my clothes."

"So," she smiled. "We could change that."

Nathan looked at her and laughed. He couldn't tell if she was serious or not. "Okay," he said throwing his shirt over his head. "You're on."

Brooke smiled in satisfaction. She threw her shirt over her head and slipped out of her jeans. She ran as quickly as she could to catch up with Nathan. Just as she reached the water she slipped and fell in the wet sand. "Owe!" she yelled.

Nathan turned around and saw her laying in the sand. "Are you okay?" he asked laughing and running to help her up.

Brooke nodded and stood up pouting. "That kind of hurt." She said pushing him.

"Why did you push me?" he asked pretending to be hurt.

"Because, if I didn't have to catch up with you, then I wouldn't have fallen." She pouted again.

Nathan grabbed her and held her against his body. For the rain being so cold his body was warm and soft. Brooke smiled as she rested her head against his shoulder. She found so much comfort in him. She looked up and met his eyes. She touched his lips softly and kissed him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Haley drove aimlessly through Tree Hill in her brand new Mercedes. She had just finished recording her debut CD and had a couple months off from the tour to finish her senior year. She was starting late, but she had nowhere to go.

She went to Peyton's to see if she could stay with her for a while, but Peyton was with Jake. She went to Karen's but not only did Karen say they were going to be moving, but Brooke was living with them. She couldn't go to Nathan's. Their annulment was finalized and he wouldn't want to see her. It looked like she was going to be in a Tree hill motel for a while until she could find an apartment of her own.

She drove passed the beach when she saw Nathan and Brooke walking toward the parking lot. Brooke was in her bra and underwear, and Nathan was in his boxers. "What the hell?" she asked to herself.

She sped up and drove as quickly as she could away from the beach.

_Thanks to all the great reviewers! You're the reason I'm updating! I love to read your reviews and see how I'm doing. I'll put out a few chapters this morning and then probably a couple more tonight. I'm sorry this isn't a Peyton/Lucas story. It's Brooke/Nathan, Peyton/Jake, Lucas/whoever story. But who knows, depending how long it is, anything could change. I'm always up for suggestions.-Brittney_


	11. Painless

**Chapter Eleven**

"**Painless"**

"Hey! Wait! Knock me down, and I'll get up again. Oh! Pain! A remedy that can erase your sting. I'll keep holding, and I'll keep trying, tonight." The words from **'Mae' **sang above the speakers in Nathan's apartment.

Nathan sat on his couch watching the door and drinking a beer. He agreed to let Brooke have a party at his apartment. He was worried about it considering the time he let Haley have a party. People were pouring the door but Brooke was nowhere to be found.

Nathan stood up as he saw Haley walk in the door. "Haley?" he asked. A couple people turned around and looked at the two of them staring at each other.

"Hey," Haley smiled. "I hope you don't mind that I stopped by. I heard about your party when I went to get my classes at school today." She told him. "I thought maybe we would have a couple minuets to talk?"

Nathan nodded and pointed toward his bedroom. Haley followed close behind him. He shut the door and faced her. "I missed you." She told him. Nathan just nodded. Haley sat down on the bed and picked up the series of pictures lying on the sheets. All of the pictures were of Brooke. "So you two are together now?"

Nathan shook his head no. "Not really," he told her.

She nodded, "I saw you at the beach yesterday."

"What?" Nathan asked surprised. "You're following me around?"

Haley shook her head. "No, I was driving around, trying to figure out where to go when I saw the two of you. I'm here for senior year. My CD comes out in the summer and then I will go back on tour."

Nathan nodded. "That's great Haley."

"Thanks," she smiled. She walked forward and hugged him. "I really missed you Nathan."

"We're not together anymore Haley." Nathan pulled away.

"I know," she whispered. "I just wanted you to know."

Nathan closed his eyes and finished his beer. He felt Haley wrap her arms around him again but this time he felt her lips trace his. He kissed her softly before pulling away when the door opened.

Brooke stood in the doorway holding onto the handle and leaning against the wall. A single tear formed in her eye and traced her face as it parched at her lips. The salty taste filled her mouth. She wiped her face and turned around to leave.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Peyton sat against the wall holding a book of song lyrics. She watched as Brooke lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling as Peyton read the lyrics aloud. She stopped and stood up. "Okay Brooke Davis, get up." She instructed her. "You, my friend, do not get this way!" she cried. "I'm not going to let you stay upset about this all day."

Brooke stood up. "I know, it's just Peyton. You know how when I was with Lucas I was really insecure. I wasn't myself at all. I used to be so confident. If a guy dumped me it didn't matter. I'm Brooke Davis, I could just go out and find another guy."

"You can!" Peyton cried. "God Brooke, you're gorgeous, you could be with anyone."

Brooke nodded, "Anyone but the Scott boys!" she rolled her eyes. "I know that I could be with anyone else Peyton, but I wanted to be with him."

Peyton smiled at her. "Brooke Davis, are you in love?"

Brooke shrugged. "I don't know what love is P. Sawyer. Love is a waste of my time!" she laughed. "How about a last minuet-shopping trip?"

Peyton shook her head no. "I promised Jake we'd hang out tonight. Plus, you told Karen you were going to meet her at the café to talk about something remember?"

"Oh yeah." Brooke sighed. "I almost forgot with everything that happened last night. You know what's funny?" she asked. "I haven't seen Lucas or Aubrey in days. How can I live with him and never see him?"

"That is funny," Peyton laughed. "I'm sure Lucas found out about Aubrey trying to get with Nathan and broke up with her. I'm not sure where he's been though, I haven't talked to him lately."

Brooke stood up and walked toward the door. "Thanks for this conversation P. Sawyer." She called as she left the room.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Jake shot the last ball through the basket and took off toward his car. "Where are you going?" Lucas called.

"I have to meet Peyton." He told him. "I'll catch you later."

Lucas shot another basket and saw Nathan walking toward him. "Hey."

"Hey," Nathan said grabbing the basketball and slam-dunking it.

"What's up?" Lucas asked extremely surprised to see him there.

"How's Aubrey?" Nathan asked.

Lucas shook his head. "Don't know, don't care."

"How's Brooke?" he asked not really wanting to know the answer.

"You live with her man." Nathan pointed out.

"Not for long."

"What?" Nathan asked confused.

"We're moving. Andy bought a house and my mom is moving us in with him. Brooke's not going to be able to stay with us anymore." Lucas told him.

"Does she know?" Nathan asked.

"I don't know, you're the one that's dating her."

"We're not dating." Nathan told him. "We were hanging out and seeing how things went. Until last night. Haley showed up. Brooke saw us kissing."

"Haley's back?" Lucas asked surprised. "She didn't come see me."

Nathan nodded and shot another hoop. "If you see Brooke, tell her I'm looking for her." He said walking away. "And Luke," he turned around. "That whole thing about us not being brothers? We'll fix that someday."

Lucas smiled and nodded.


	12. Looking For Teen Friendship

**Chapter Twelve**

"**Looking For Teen Friendship"**

"I think about what we could have been if you had stayed as I look into your eyes then turn my head away everything happened so fast I think of my stupidity as I think about our past why did you have to leave? Why did you make me make-believe? That what we had was real love I thought I couldn't get enough But then you announced the end Causing pain I cannot mend It's true I'm an imbecile I thought what we had was for real Don't you realize what we had Oh my, now I'm always mad Can't you hear my malicious tone As I sit here all alone." Haley sang while she sat in Lucas' bedroom.

"Since when do you listen to '**Punchline**'?" Lucas asked staring at her.

"Chris played it a lot on the tour." She told him.

"Chris," Lucas said his name.

Haley rolled her eyes. "Stop it Luke!" she cried. "I'm sorry okay. God, how many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" she begged. "I just want to get my life back. I'm here now. I'm getting an apartment. I'm going to school for senior year. After school I'm going back on tour." She told him.

Lucas nodded. "If that's what you want," he told her. "I told you I would support you Haley. I promised you that. When do you start school?"

"Monday," she told him. It was Saturday.

"Are you nervous?"

Haley nodded. "Of course. I saw Nathan last night, but it's just going to be so weird. I mean, do I try to be friends with him? Do I leave him alone? Do I ignore him?"

Lucas shook his head. "I don't know, I feel the same way about Brooke right now."

"What happened between you two anyway? It seems to me like she's with Nathan now. He told me they weren't together, but it sure looked like it when I saw them at the beach the other night."

Lucas shook his head sadly. "I don't know." He said honestly. "She lives here, but we never see each other. When she got back from her summer in California I was dating someone else." He told her. "I thought Brooke didn't feel the same way about me, so I moved on."

"You're dating someone else?" Haley asked intrigued. "Who?"

"I was dating someone else," he corrected her. "We broke up a few days ago."

"Why?" Haley asked. "And who?"

"Her name was Aubrey. She moved here this summer. She broke up with me a few days ago because she thinks I still have feelings toward Brooke."

"Do you?" Haley asked.

Lucas shook his head no. "I miss being her friend. I thought I loved Aubrey but it was really fake. I think I'm better off alone for a while."

Haley nodded. "I am beginning to feel the same way." She agreed. "I guess it's back to you and me buddy."

Lucas smiled. "I'm really happy about that."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Brooke watched Karen pull the last bowl of soup from the counter. "I'm just about finished she promised."

Brooke had been waiting at the café for over an hour. Karen needed to talk to her about something, but had to finish cleaning up the café first.

Finally Karen sat down next to Brooke and faced her. "Brooke," she started to say. "I don't want you to get upset, but there is something I have to tell you, and you're not going to like it."

Brooke suddenly felt extremely nervous as she looked at Karen. "What is it Karen?"

"Lucas and I are going to be moving into Andy's new house." She started. "We're trying to start a new life together, and I don't think that it's going to work out having you live with us there."

Brooke looked at her with amazement. She fought back the tears forming in her eyes. "Okay," she nodded. "Have you told my parents?"

Karen shook her head no. "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." She told her. "I'm willing to work something out with you, as long as I have your trust."

"Of course you do!" Brooke cried. All the emotions running through her body seemed to collide.

"If you agree to work for me part time after school every night, and you use the money your parents are giving you on rent, I'll help you get an apartment."

Brooke jumped up from her chair and wrapped her arms around Karen. "Are you serious?" she cried with happiness. "Wow," she laughed, "I feel like I'm going to pass out."

"Calm down," Karen smiled. "I'm serious about you working for me. I really need the help around here."

Brooke couldn't contain her smile. What could be better than having her own apartment?

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"We should get going," Jake called to Peyton who was holding Jenny up to see a group of Monkey's. The three of them spent the day at the zoo.

Peyton turned around and put Jenny in her stroller. She followed Jake toward the car. Jake reached down and entwined his fingers in hers smiling. Peyton grinned as she pushed the stroller, she was so happy.

Jake fastened Jenny in the back seat of the car and opened the door to let Peyton in. "Thank you." She told him.

They drove to Jake's house and put Jenny down to sleep. "What do you want to do now?" he asked her looking at the clock. It was only 7:30.

Peyton shrugged. "Are you sure your parents don't mind us leaving Jenny here?"

Jake shook his head. "They know, they don't mind at all. They just want me to be back tomorrow."

Peyton smiled. "What do you say we get something to eat, and play some pool?"

Jake agreed. They drove to the bar just outside of Tree hill where Lucas and Brooke shared their first date.

"Do you still have the fake ID Brooke made us last year?" Peyton asked Jake as they sat down at a table.

Jake nodded and handed her the ID from his wallet. Peyton pulled out hers and set them on the table. They both looked up in amazement as the waitress approached them. "Haley?" Peyton asked surprised.

"Hi," Haley smiled. "Jake," she nodded. "I know, I know, it's not Karen's, but I thought that would be a little too familiar." She told her. "I'm just staying for the summer and I thought it would help pass time."

"That's cool," Peyton smiled awkwardly. She knew Haley didn't need the money. She had more money than Peyton ever touched in her lifetime. Being on tour and singing was a promising career. She knew Haley probably never had to work again. She reached down and grabbed the fake ID's off the table. "I probably don't need these?" Peyton asked showing them to Haley.

Haley laughed and looked at the horrible pictures on the ID's. "Wow," she joked. "What can I get you?"

"Two Corona's and two burgers?" Jake asked.

Haley smiled. "Don't tell anyone." She made them promise.

Peyton finished eating before Jake and stood up to start a game of pool. "Hurry up," she begged.

Jake laughed and followed her to the pool table. "You know how to play pool?" he asked a little bit surprised.

Peyton nodded, "Brooke said that every girl should know how to beat a boy in pool."

Jake smiled; he reached his arm around her and kissed her softly. "I'm so glad I met you," he whispered in her ear.

"I'm pretty glad I met you too," she whispered back. "I'm going to be even more glad when we get back to my house."

Jake's eyes lit up with a smile. "Even more glad?" he laughed. "Did that even make sense?"

"That's not the point," Peyton kissed him again. "You know what I mean." 

Jake nodded. "I know what you mean."

_Well, there it is. Chapter twelve. This one was a little longer. Don't worry, more Nathan/Brooke ahead. Just want to clear up some other friendships/relationships. I hope you enjoyed it. I look forward to your reviews!_


	13. Never Take Friendship Personal

**Chapter Thirteen**

"**Never Take Friendship Personal"**

Haley slowly walked into the school with head phones on her ears. "And you think that you finally found a place of your own. Amongst the cold timid souls. Where only failure knows your name. Look around for the closest to blame. But look no further than the hands beneath your arms. And now you're six feet down buried with, with your passing fame." The words by '**Anberlin**' poured out.

She reached down and switched the CD player off. "How depressing," she said aloud.

The school looked the same as it always did. She couldn't believe how long it had been since she walked through those doors. Right now, nothing but fear grew inside of her.

The cold doorknob on her finger tip slipped between her hands as she entered. The first person she faced was Nathan. Imagine that? She thought to herself. She smiled at him and nodded. Instead of stopping she kept walking. That's when she saw Brooke. "Hey," she waved. Brooke kept walking. "What did I do?" she thought out loud. Finally she saw Peyton and Luke. "Hey," she said again hoping for a response from them.

"Hey," Peyton smiled. "Look at you." Peyton pointed out Haley's look. She was wearing a pair of low rise jeans and a light pink tank top that hung incredibly low.

"Do either of you know why Brooke completely ignored me?" she asked them nervously.

Lucas shook his head no. "Actually yes," Peyton said. "Excuse us Lucas," she pulled Haley away from him. "Brooke saw you kissing Nathan the other night,"

"What?" Haley asked. "Is that why she left the party so quickly? Nathan told me they weren't together."

"They're not really," Peyton sighed. "They have been hanging out a lot. Brooke really likes him. She caught the two of you kissing, and she's really upset."

"Oh," Haley nodded. She wasn't sure how to react to that. She felt bad that Brooke was upset with her, but at the same time, Brooke was kissing her ex husband. That had to come with some kind of territory.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Brooke sat down in the desk in the back of the room. Nathan hadn't made it to class yet, because for the first time ever, she was incredibly early. She hadn't seen or heard from him all weekend, and at this point, she didn't care to. She watched as he walked in, talking to a couple girls. He noticed her and made his way to sit down next to her. "Hey," he smiled. "Where have you been? You left so early the other night. It was your party, and you just left."

Brooke looked at him with disgust. "Like you care." She focused her eyes on the front of the room.

Nathan was confused why she was being so cold to him. "What's wrong with you Davis?" he asked slumping back in his chair as the teacher entered the room.

"Again, like you'd care."

Nathan shrugged. "Okay, whatever," he sighed. "If you want to be a bitch that's just fine."

Brooke's eyes lit up. "I am NOT a bitch!" she yelled. She stood up from her desk and stormed past the teacher and out of the classroom and toward her car.

Brooke sat in her car and turned up the radio. She noticed a girl walking toward her and suddenly realized it was Aubrey. She rolled her eyes. "What do you want? I'm not in the mood."

Aubrey sat down on the curb and shook her head. "I wanted to apologize," she smiled. "I know you don't want to hear it. I don't know what I was thinking the other day with Nathan."

"It doesn't matter anyway," Brooke shook her head. "Tutorwife is back?"

"Tutorwife?" Aubrey laughed. "Who's that?"

"Haley." Brooke told her.

"Oh," she nodded. "That must be the girl I was Lucas with."

Brooke nodded. "What happened with you and Lucas anyway?"

Aubrey shrugged. "We broke up. Which is fine, it wasn't going to work anyway. I see how he feels about you."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Well for your information. It doesn't matter how he feels about me, because I don't feel that way about him."

"I know." She smiled. "Just think Brooke, if you want it bad enough you can have anything you want. I bet if you think of Nathan that way, things will work out."

"Yeah, okay, see-ya, bye." She slammed her door and squealed out of the parking lot. Like she was going to take advice from Aubrey.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Brooke walked into the café for her first shift when she noticed Karen about to head out the door. "Where are you going?" she asked.

Karen stopped and looked at her. "Oh hi Brooke. I'm going to look at something. I'm actually not going to need you tonight."

Brooke sighed. "Okay," What was she going to do now? She turned to walk out the door when she saw Nathan coming toward her.

"Peyton told me what you saw," he said before had a chance to speak.

"Okay, note to self, don't trust Peyton with anything," Brooke said sarcastically.

Nathan laughed. "Come on Brooke, I had no idea you saw that."

Brooke shrugged. "What does it matter, we're not together anyway."

Nathan nodded. "I know. But it still wasn't what you thought it was."

"Whatever."

"Haley kissed me. It took me by surprise. I don't have any feelings for her anymore. There was just too much drama with us. Honestly."

Brooke shrugged. "Okay,"

"Okay?"

Brooke agreed. A part of her felt stupid for not considering that before. She still wasn't ready to act all cheery. "I have to go," she lied.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To look at apartments," she told him. "Karen is letting me work for her and pay for an apartment since she's moving in with Andy." She said smiling. Every time she talked about it she got excited.

"Do you mind if I come with you?" he asked.

Brooke shook her head. "I guess not, as long as you promise not to touch me."

Nathan laughed. "Whatever Davis, you know you want this."

"Yeah right," she rolled her eyes. She laughed as they walked out the door together. The truth was, she did want that.


	14. National Anthem

**Chapter Fourteen**

"**National Anthem"**

"Ever get that funny feeling that your future is not going to be bought cheap, and that for sale sign that's hanging on your neck might as well spell defeat, yeah it's already starting to mix with on of my best pieces of fiction." **'Less than Jake'** played in Nathan's car as he drove Brooke around Tree Hill looking for apartments.

"Why don't you just get an apartment by me?" he asked suggestively.

Brooke laughed. "Because stupid, unlike you, I can't afford a million dollar apartment. I'm not rich anymore."

Nathan laughed. "Hey, isn't that Karen?" he asked pointing to the brunette walking into the county jail.

Brooke nodded, "Do you think she's going to see your mom?"

Nathan shrugged. "I guess so,"

"Do you ever go see your mom?" she asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to. And I don't want to talk about it," he said with anger in his voice.

"Okay," Brooke accepted. She was determined to find out why Nathan didn't want to see her.

"That one!" Brooke jumped pointing across the street to a small apartment building. "I want to look at that one."

Nathan drove across and parked the car. He opened the door for Brooke and walked at her side as they entered the building. They spoke with a woman at the front desk about pricing before she showed them the apartment available.

Brooke followed close behind the woman as she opened the door. When she looked inside she practically collapsed. The living room was enormous. It was had black leather couches, and a glass coffee table. A small dining area held a wooden four seat kitchen table next to the kitchen. The kitchen floor was hard wood and the cupboards matches. She followed the woman into the bedroom. The bed was king sized and sat high above the floor. There were no sheets. The lady instructed her that linens were not included. A beautiful wood dresser held a twenty inch TV across from the bed. The closet was the best part. It was almost as big as the room. There was a separate door to the bathroom in the closet and in the bedroom. "Wow," Brooke whispered. "So all of the furniture is included?" she asked walking through the closet. "This closet is perfect for me!"

The woman nodded. "The apartment is fully furnished. You need your own linens, shower curtain and dishes. That's about it."

Brooke looked down at the sheet of paper with the price and sighed. It would be tough to come up with that much money every month, but it would defiantly be worth it. "What do I need to get it?" she asked.

"A credit worthy co-signer and a $500 damage deposit."

Brooke smiled. "Okay,"

Nathan drove Brooke back to Lucas' and decided to go inside with her. Karen was sitting at the table drinking coffee with Andy. "Hey," Brooke smiled sitting down and throwing the piece of paper at Karen. "I found it!" she cried. "I found the one I want."

Karen took the piece of paper and shook her head. "I don't think you can afford that Brooke."

"I can Karen, I promise I can. I will work as many hours as possible. I'll even get a second job in the summer!" she cried. "I want it so bad!"

Karen laughed along with Andy. "Okay Brooke, we'll go look at it together tomorrow."

"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!" she squealed. She grabbed Nathan and hugged him. "I'm going to grab some things, but then I'll be right back and we can go somewhere," she said to him.

Nathan nodded. He watched as Brooke ran into the other room. "Hey Karen, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked.

Karen looked up at him. "Sure Nate, what is it?"

"I saw you at the jail today. Where you visiting my mom?"

Karen thought for a second before nodding. "She really wants to see you Nate."

Nathan shook his head. He didn't want to see his mom. Sure he hated his dad, but he never expected her to kill him. Regardless of the fact that he was a horrible person, he didn't deserve to die. "Just tell her I said Hi?" he asked.

Karen nodded as Brooke came back into the room. "Ready?" she asked slapping Nathan in the stomach.

Nathan smiled and walked away from them. "Bye Karen," he called.

"Where are we going?" Brooke asked once they reached the car.

"It's a surprise," he told her.

Brooke smiled. The day couldn't get any better.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Peyton watched Jake and Jenny leave her house and lay on her bed. She didn't know what she was going to do now that Jake was leaving for the night. He was going to visit his grandparents in Charlotte.

She called Brooke but she didn't answer. She called Haley but she was with Lucas at the mall. Finally she decided to go for a walk by herself. She was walking through a park when she saw a group of men coming toward her. She immediately recognized one of them as Rick, the guy who had given her coke.

"Peyton," he smiled walking toward her.

"Hi," Peyton said nervously. She could feel her hands shaking.

"Did you know I was going to be here?" he asked.

Peyton shook her head no. "I was just going for a walk."

"Oh," he smiled. "Did you want anything?"

Peyton shook her head no again. Rick just smiled. "Well here you go," he said slipping a small container in her hand. "No charge this time, but when you need more, you come back to me."

Peyton nodded. She slipped the container in her pocket and walked away from them. She didn't want to do the coke; she just didn't want to say no to him. She would just take it home and throw it away.

She walked a few more blocks before she came up to the cemetery. She hadn't visited her mother since Ellie had shown up at her house. She didn't know what to say to her.

Finally she forced herself to go to her grave. As she sat down tears poured from her eyes. "Mom," she whispered. "I have been so strong lately. I haven't thought about that Ellie woman at all. Part of me thinks she's lying, but deep down inside I feel like she's telling the truth. I hope it's not true. Even if it is, I will always love you as my mother." She spoke.

She wiped a tear from her eye and stood up. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you and that I miss you." She told her. "I hope that if I decide to talk to Ellie one day, and find truth to her story, it won't upset you."

She turned and walked away from the grave. That was the most she would be able to handle. She reached into her pocket and felt the container Rick handed her. She had to get rid of it as soon as possible.

_So that chapter was kind of short, but it tied together some loose ends. Next chapter will be Brooke's surprise. Peyton will struggle with getting rid of the coke, and Haley and Lucas will go to an amusement park to grow closer as friends._


	15. National Disgrace

**Chapter Fifteen**

"**National Disgrace"**

"It's all about the hangovers, and late checkouts. Maid banging on the door like, "Wake up! Get Out!" But Come on mami, y'all probably don't want me comin'  
Out like a Zombie brushing teeth in the lobby." The music by '**Atmosphere**' blared over Nathan's speakers as he drove out of Tree Hill. He had just gotten off the phone with Tim and was taking Brooke to her surprise.

'Where are we going?" Brooke asked watching the road pass her by.

"Remember how you brought me to that basketball signing?" he asked her. "You kept it a surprise the whole time. Why would I tell you where we are going?" he smiled.

"But you didn't even plan on seeing me today, how could you have planned a surprise for me?"

Nathan smiled. "Don't worry about it," he laughed. The two of them sat quietly listening to the music for almost two hours. It was starting to get dark when they finally stopped the car. "Ready?" Nathan asked.

Brooke nodded, "Give me one second," she asked pulling out her cell phone and calling Karen. "Hi Karen," Brooke smiled at Nathan. "I'm in Charleston with Peyton," she lied. "Yeah, Peyton's car got a flat tire and she doesn't want to drive home tonight. Do you mind if we stay in a hotel? Yeah Peyton's dad is going to let her use his Visa to get a room. Alright, Thanks, I will, bye." She hung up the phone.

Nathan laughed at her. "Brooke Davis, you're going to get yourself in trouble."

"Naw," she smiled. "So what are we doing?"

Nathan opened the door for her and told her to follow him. Brooke nervously walked over wet grass until she saw a dirt driveway leading to a small log cabin over looking a lake. "Do you like it?" he asked.

Brooke shrugged. "I guess, where are we?"

Nathan smiled, "We, are at my dad's cabin." He told her. "He bought it a couple years before, well you know. He told me about it, and said he planned on giving it to me when I got older. I came out here once with Haley to get a key but I've never been inside." He lied. The truth was him and Haley both had keys. They had been to the cabin tons of times. He didn't want to tell Brooke because he was afraid she wouldn't think it would be as special.

"Wow," Brooke smiled. "Does your mom know about it?"

Nathan shook his head no. "She's never seen it before. She has no idea, and she never will."

Brooke's smile faded. She wanted to talk to Nathan about seeing his mom but decided this wasn't the right time. "So what are we doing here?" she asked. She didn't want to be mean but this wasn't exactly her idea of a surprise.

Nathan laughed. "Tim came up here to get it ready." He told her. "I've actually never seen it. I left this one up to Tim."

"You actually called Tim and asked him to drive all the way here for me?"

Nathan nodded. "I wanted to do something fun for you. I called him before we left. He drove up here right away. We probably actually passed him on our way up.

"Wow Nathan, that was really nice of you."

"Tell me about it," he grabbed Brooke's hand and walked inside the cabin with her.

Brooke looked around at the beautiful wood walls surrounding her. For being a cabin in the woods it was gorgeous. All of the furniture matched the wood on the walls. It had a very cozy setting. Nathan walked through the living area and put some wood in the fireplace. It immediately lit up the room. "Wow," Brooke smiled. There was a kitchen off the living room made completely of wood with glass doors. "This is amazing."

Nathan smiled. He walked into the bedroom. The bed was also made of wood and held a black satin comforter. On the bed lay two red roses. He hadn't expected Tim to do so well. He felt Brooke's hands on his shoulders behind him. "Wow, Tim really did this one up huh?" she smiled. "Who would have thought."

"Yeah," he smiled. "Who would have thought?" He looked at Brooke's make-up free eyes. He loved the fact that they would share an evening without getting dressed up. Of course he loved the way she looked when she was dressed up, but at this second he had never seen someone so beautiful. She was gorgeous.

Brooke's lips parched as she stared back at him. He was staring at her like he had never seen her before. She suddenly felt nervous. "What?" she smiled. "Do I have something on my face?"

Nathan shook his head. He put his arm across her shoulder and pulled her close to him. He bent down kissing her and smiling at the same time. He didn't know what came over. Sure they had been hanging out and went out as friends. Sure they had kissed, but until now he still thought of her as his friend.

Brooke smiled as she felt Nathan pull her tank top over her head. His arm body suddenly felt cold. She noticed the window open behind them. "Just a second," she whispered. She walked to the window and shut it. Nathan watched as her body sat down on the bed.

He moved over her, pulling her jogging pants from her body. He couldn't remove the smile from his face. "I told you we could only hang out today if you didn't touch me," she reminded him.

Nathan smiled. "Are you sure,"

Brooke shook her head and quickly threw his shirt on the floor. "Not a chance."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"Hey there gorgeous." Jake smiled at Peyton as he walked into her bedroom.

Peyton jumped startled to see him. "Jake?" she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Jake looked at her with confusion. Tears were coming down from her eyes as she lay on her bed. Jake looked down and saw the container of Coke lying on her bed. "What is this?"

Peyton was crying harder now. "I didn't do it," she told him.

"I brought Jenny to her grandma's. She's going to stay there for a week, but I wanted to come back and be with you for a while. I would have come sooner if I knew this is what you would be doing." He threw the container in the garbage.

Peyton shook her head and pulled it out of the garbage. She walked into the bathroom and flushed it down the toilet. "I didn't do it Jake. This guy gave it to me. I went and saw my mom. I was just so upset; I couldn't bring myself to throw it out right away."

Jake pulled her close to him. "Peyton, its okay, its okay." He held her. "You didn't do it, that's all that matters."

Peyton nodded. That was the truth. She hadn't intended to do it; she was just too scared to throw it away. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Jake pulled her away from him and cleared the curls stuck to her face by tears. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said. "We're going to get through this together."

"Get through what?" she asked. "I'm not doing drugs; I don't need to get passed anything."

Jake shook his head. "No, I meant what's going on with your mom."

Peyton looked at him confused. "My mom is dead."

"Oh," Jake said softly. "I guess I thought you went to see that woman who told you she's your real mom."

Peyton started to cry again. "Ellie? No. I don't care if it's true or not. She's not my mother,"

Jake nodded and hugged her again. "I know," he whispered. "I know." The truth was, he didn't know.

Jake went to see Whitey a few days prior. He asked him about Peyton's mother. Peyton had been a cheerleader so he figured he would know. Whitey wasn't sure. He said she took a year off from school, only doing classes from home. He figured that was while she was pregnant. He had never actually seen her pregnant stomach. Anything was possible.

Haley sat down on a bench outside of the amusement park. Lucas stood in front of her eating cotton candy. "That was so much fun!" she smiled. "I'm glad we did this."

Lucas smiled back at her. "We should get back soon. It's really dark outside, and it's a long drive." Haley nodded and walked to the car with him. They had been driving for a couple hours when Haley told him to make a left. "Where are we going?" Lucas asked surprised at her suddenly.

Haley smiled at him. "Call your mom and tell her we're staying in Charleston or something. Nathan's dad bought him a cabin up here. We could stay there, and have a bon fire, and make s'mores." She suggested.

Lucas laughed and called his mom. "Brooke is apparently staying in Charleston with Peyton," he laughed after he hung up.

"Yeah right." Haley smiled. "She's probably trying to cover up where she really is. And anyway, how's he going to find out?" she asked holding up the key. "He's in Tree Hill. The last time I knew he went there was with me right before I left."

"Alright," Lucas accepted. He drove into the driveway of the cabin and saw Nathan's car.

"Oh my God," Haley cried. "We have to go, he's here!"

"I thought you said he wouldn't be here!" Lucas exclaimed. He started to back out of the driveway when he saw Nathan walking around the side of the house. "Great job Haley. He saw us, we can't just leave."

Haley nervously watched Nathan walking toward them. He saw Brooke coming a few feet behind him. Brooke was wearing a pair of Nathan's sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked watching Lucas rolled down his window.

Lucas wasn't sure what to say. "Um, we have a long drive home; Haley suggested that we stay here. She was going to call you and make sure it was okay."

"No, it's not okay." He said looking in the window at Haley. "It's not even close to okay."

Brooke walked up next to Nathan and put her arm around his waste. "Nathan it's okay. Let them stay here."

"What?" Nathan looked at her in shock. "No," he mouthed.

Brooke shook her head. "Come on, it's a long drive. It will be fine," she promised.

"Fine," Nathan accepted. "Park in the grass." He walked away from the car and Brooke followed.

"Wow," Haley whispered. "This is going to be awkward."

Lucas nodded. "Very,"

Haley laughed. "They're kind of touchy don't you think?" Haley asked.

Lucas agreed. "Very," he repeated. They climbed out of the car and walked toward the backyard.

Brooke was sitting on a lawn chair in front of a fire and Nathan was sitting next to her holding a bottle of wine. "How special." Haley muttered.

Lucas smiled and nodded his head. "This should be fun."

_So it took me quite a long time to write this chapter. It's a bit longer than the others. This is also one of my favorite chapters so far. I love writing Brooke/Nathan scenes. Thanks for the wonderful reviews. Someone asked about a Brooke/Lucas friendship.. and I'll just tell you.. they will become friends again eventually._


	16. Cruz

**Chapter Sixteen**

"**Cruz"**

"Slowly drifting into a peaceful breeze. Tongue tied and twisted are all my memories

Celebrating a fantasy come true. Packing all my bags, Finally on the move. I'm leaving today. I'm living it, I'm leaving it to change." **'Christina Aguilera' **sang across the radio in Nathan's car.

"Thank you for bringing me there," Brooke smiled as they drove back to Tree Hill.

Nathan nodded, "I wish it could have just been me and you," he said sadly. "Sleeping was so awkward."

"It's alright," Brooke shrugged. "It had to come at some point, don't you think?"

Nathan nodded, "I just never imagined sleeping in a bed with you, while my ex wife and my brother lay on the floor." He smiled.

"At least you go the privilege of sleeping with me," Brooke pointed out.

"That's true," he smiled. "And you in return got the privilege of sleeping with me."

"Yes, I did." She laughed. "When we get back in town can you drop me off at Tric?" she asked.

"Sure," he told her. "But why?"

"I want to talk to Peyton." She smiled. "Does that bother you?"

"Why would it bother me?" Nathan asked confused. "She's your best friend,"

"I know," Brooke laughed. "I was just checking."

Nathan drove into the parking lot of Tric and let Brooke out of the car. She kissed him softly on the lips and thanked him again for bring her. She opened the door of Tric and saw Karen standing on the other side. "Shit," she muttered to herself.

"Hi Brooke," Karen waved.

Brooke smiled nervously. "Hey Karen," she sat down at the bar. "Is my best friend Peyton here?"

Karen looked at her with confusion. "I thought she was with you,"

Brooke smiled slightly, "Well, she was, but she went home to change for work." She looked up as Peyton walked out of the back room.

"Oh hey Brooke," she smiled. "What are you doing here?"

Karen looked back and forth between them and laughed. "Nice try Brooke, where were you really?"

Brooke looked at her nervously unsure of what to say. "Um, I,"

"She was with me," Lucas yelled out walking up to them from the doorway. Brooke turned around and looked at him with confusion. "Haley and I brought Brooke to the amusement park with us yesterday. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I figured if I told you I was staying with Brooke and Haley both overnight you would get mad."

Karen looked at him angrily. "I don't like you lying to me Lucas, and you either Brooke."

Peyton watched all of this with confusion. The last she knew Brooke and Lucas weren't even really talking to each other.

"Don't let it happen again," Karen ordered. "And Brooke, I expect to see you after school tomorrow at the café? We're going to take off a little early and go look at that place you were talking about."

Brooke smiled with excitement. "I'll be there!" She turned around to look at Lucas and mouthed "Thank you," at him. She grabbed Peyton's arm and took off outside.

Once the two were outside and away from everyone Brooke smiled. "P. Sawyer, I have to tell you something,"

"Great," she smiled. "I have to talk to you about something too."

"Okay, you go first," Brooke told her.

Peyton shrugged. "No, it's alright, go ahead."

"Okay," Brooke smiled. "I slept with Nathan last night."

"What?" Peyton cried. "I thought you were with Lucas and Haley?"

Brooke shook her head. "Well we were, sort of. But that's not the point, the point is, that I slept with Nathan, and it was amazing."

Peyton laughed a little at her friend describing sex with Nathan. It hadn't been that long ago when she herself was having sex with Nathan. "That's great Brooke, I'm really glad you're happy." Her smile faded.

"Peyton, what is it? What's wrong? Did something happen with Jake?"

Peyton shook her head no. "It's just, it's about my dad, well and my mom," she told her.

Brooke looked at her confused. "Do you want to go somewhere and talk about it?"

Peyton nodded. "Let me just go tell Karen I'm leaving."

Brooke sat down next to Peyton on a couch in a little café not far from Karen's. "I almost feel like I'm cheating on Karen," Peyton laughed.

"I know," Brooke smiled. "Plus, I work there now."

"Yeah I heard about that," Peyton giggled. "That's awesome that Karen's doing that for you."

Brooke nodded, "So what's going on P. Sawyer, you know you can talk to me about anything right?"

Peyton sighed and held back tears that were forming. "Do you remember the woman that wanted to do that article on me and Tric a while back?" Brooke shook her head. "Well she showed up at my doorstep the night you left for California and claimed she was my mother."

"That's impossible, your mom is…" Brooke started.

"Dead." Peyton finished. "I know right? Well she claims that she gave birth to me, but my father left her for her sister, or my mother. So really, my mom was actually my aunt." Peyton explained.

"Wow," Brooke whispered. "Are you sure it's true?"

Peyton shook her head no. "Not really," she said honestly. "Well, I didn't until last night. My dad came home, and caught Jake and I kissing in my bedroom. He started to yell but then I caught him off guard by bringing it up. It's true Brooke, all of it's true."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Brooke asked hugging her. "I'm so sorry Peyton."

Peyton shrugged. "It's okay, it's just. I don't know where to put that. I mean, my dad is still my dad, but now I'm having a hard time looking at him, or even being around him for that matter. Apparently he's really staying this time, and I don't want to be near him."

"Wow," Brooke sighed. "I'm really sorry Peyton, I'm sure we can come up with something."

"Like what?"

"You could move to an apartment with me!" Brooke exclaimed. "You already have a job, you'd be able to afford it."

Peyton shook her head. "My dad will never let me."

"I guess not huh?" she wined. "Well that totally sucks."

Peyton nodded. "Yes it does."

"Well, let's go do something fun to take your mind off of things," she suggested.

"Like what?"

"I don't know," Brooke shrugged. "Get wasted, go to the mall, anything."

"Those are things you like to do when you're depressed," Peyton laughed.

"Fine," Brooke pouted. "I have a better idea. Just wait and see!"


	17. Whatever It Takes

**Chapter Seventeen**

"**Whatever it takes"**

"The sun will rise again, breaking through the clouds, and this is our way out." '**Letter Kills**' sang as Brooke pressed play on the CD player.

"You're listening to '**Letter Kills**'?" Peyton asked surprised. The two girls were sitting on top of Nathan's apartment building looking out at the city.

"Yes, Yes I am," Brooke smiled handing Peyton a can of beer.

"I thought you said we weren't drinking?" Peyton took the can. "We're sitting on a roof." She laughed. "What if we fall?"

"Oh Peyton, stop being so cautious," she laughed. "We're waiting for a few minuets before we go down to Nathan's."

"Why?" Peyton asked. "Why are we going to Nathan's anyway?" she muttered. "I thought we were going to do something just us?"

"We were, but then I came up with something else. Don't worry, I promise you'll like it."

The two girls sat looking over Tree Hill from the rooftops talking and laughing. Nathan crawling across the roof toward them interrupted their conversation. "Hey," he smiled. "Peyton, can you go downstairs for a couple minuets so I could talk to Brooke?"

"I guess," Peyton said reluctantly. She climbed across the roof to the window and crawled inside Nathan's apartment. She looked around and saw candles lit everywhere. Jake was standing inside holding a dozen red roses for her. "Oh my God," she whispered. "What is this?"

Jake smiled. "We just wanted to do something special for you," he told her. He walked over and handed her the roses. "I love you Peyton,"

She kissed him hard on the lips. "I love you too."

0XXXXXXXXXXXX0

"So, do you think she'll like it?" Brooke asked resting her head on Nathan's shoulder while she drank her beer.

Nathan nodded, "I think she'll like it," he grabbed her hand and helped to the stairway off the roof.

"Where are we going?" she asked following close behind him.

"I have to go somewhere and get something," he told her. "But you are coming with me."

"Okay," Brooke followed laughing. "If you say so."

Nathan drove around for a while and Brooke stared out the window bored. "Nathan, seriously, this is so boring. Where are we going?"

Nathan laughed. "Fine," he pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building they had looked at together.

"Why are we going here?" she asked. Nathan took her hand and pulled her out of the car and in the building. "Nathan," she begged. "Seriously where are we going?"

Nathan pulled out a key and handed it to Brooke motioning for her to open the door. Brooke turned the key in the lock and stepped inside. Karen, Lucas, Haley, and Andy stood inside hanging lights across the wall. Boxes were scattered everywhere, and it was obvious that they were Brooke's things.

"Surprise," Lucas smiled seeing them walk in.

Brooke could feel tears welling in her eyes as she looked around the apartment. Karen was walking toward her and hugged her. "We came to look at it with out you. It's perfect for you Brooke. We paid the deposit as a gift."

Brooke couldn't hold back her tears any longer as she hugged all of them. "Thank you so much," she cried.

Andy pulled a cake out of the freezer. He set it on the table and Brooke looked down at it. "Welcome home Brooke," it read.

Everyone sat around eating cake and laughing until it started getting late. "We should be going," Karen told her. "I hope you like it Brooke."

Brooke hugged her again. "I can't tell you how much this means to me." She whispered. She said goodbye to everyone else. Finally it was just she and Nathan standing in the middle of her apartment alone. "This is so amazing." She told him. "I can't even tell you how much I appreciate you keeping this surprise from me tonight."

Nathan smiled. "I should get back to my apartment." He kissed her on the cheek. "School tomorrow."

Brooke shook her head. "No way. Peyton and Jake are there, plus, there is no way I'm sleeping here alone tonight."

"Why?' Nathan asked confused.

"Hello?" she smiled. "Because I have a brand new king size bed and we must try it out."

Nathan laughed a little bit and picked her up carrying her to the bedroom and shutting the door. "Oh Brooke Davis, what am I going to do with you?" he threw her on the bed.

"Whatever you want," she smiled throwing her clothes over her head and onto the floor.

Nathan smiled. This was going to be one of the best nights of his life.

0XXXXXXXXXXXX0

Brooke rolled over in her bed and found herself sleeping naked by herself. "Nathan?" she called but she heard no answer. "Hello?" she stood up and walked to the bathroom opening the door to the steamed up bathroom. "Hey," she called opening the shower curtain to see Nathan standing under the hot water.

"Hey," he whispered pulling her inside.

"Nathan I have my clothes on," she screamed jumping back out.

"We could change that," he smiled pulling her back in and undressing her. He pulled her close to his body and kissed her softly tracing her lips with his tongue.

"You know," she whispered. "This situation might work out kind of nicely." She smiled.

Nathan shook his head. "I wish it was going to, however, we're going to be late for school," he pointed at his watch.

The two of them ran around the apartment gathering all the clothes they could find to wear to school. Nathan obviously only came up with what he was wearing the day before. "I guess this is going to have to do," he laughed.

Brooke laughed with him. "Hey, at least you look hot." She sprayed him with some wood cleaner.

"What was that for?" he asked pretending to be mad.

"Hey, it says lemon fresh." She looked at the can. 

He chased her and wrapped her in a hug. "Let's go."

""Fine!" she muttered following him out the door. "Fine."


	18. Saddest Girl Story

**Chapter Eighteen**

"**Saddest Girl Story"**

"You can't win. Stop expecting change; he's just a lost cause that you're waiting on.  
Take a look around, you could have anyone. So leave undeserving him. It only hurts at first." Haley played '**The Starting Line**' song and looked out the hotel window. She thought about the night she spent with Lucas, Brooke and Nathan. It had been horrible.

"_Do we really have to sleep on the floor?" Lucas asked. _

_  
"Yes," Nathan told him. "Brooke and I are sleeping in the bed." _

Haley's heart sank just thinking about it. She had lay still on the floor with a blanket next to Lucas while her ex husband slept in a bed with Brooke Davis. Did he have no regard toward her heart?

"_I know it's weird, but I just want Brooke to be happy, and if it's with Nathan, so be it." Lucas whispered._

"_I know," Haley wined. "It's just, it's so, unbelievable." _

_Lucas hugged her. "You don't love him anymore do you?" _

_Haley shook her head no._

It was the truth. Haley didn't love him anymore. She just wasn't used to the idea of Brooke Davis being with her ex husband. Then again, why wouldn't she be? Brooke Davis could have anyone, why not Nathan Scott too?

Suddenly her mind drifted toward the apartment the night before. Haley didn't want to go. Karen asked her to be there, so she agreed. Seeing Nathan and Brooke walk into the apartment to happy and holding hands was killing her, but why? They weren't together, and she wasn't in love with him. So what was the big problem? She knew she was lonely.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Brooke stumbled into the classroom at Nathan's side falling into one of the desks and laughing. "I'm really sorry I'm late!" she cried.

"Yeah, me too," Nathan smiled pulling his backpack open and grabbing his books.

Mr. Taylor stood in front of both of them and looked at his watch. "9:32" he said out loud. You're 42 minuets late."

Brooke looked at Nathan and shrugged. "Oops!"

"You'll be telling Mrs. Write oops in detention for the rest of the week."

"What?" Nathan yelled. "I have practice all week!"

"I guess you'll be late to practice too!" Mr. Taylor smiled. "Don't be late to my class."

Brooke lay her head down on her desk. She was going to get in big trouble with the rest of the squad; she needed to teach them their new routine.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Lucas shot a basket and threw the ball to Jake. It was their first practice since him and Aubrey broke up. He looked at the side of the gym where the cheerleaders practiced. Peyton, Aubrey, and the rest of the squad sat on the bench while Brooke was nowhere to be found.

"Who are you looking for? Brooke or Aubrey?" Jake asked throwing the ball back to Lucas.

"Just find it funny how Brooke isn't here, and Nathan isn't either." He said.

Whitey was writing furiously in a book when both Nathan and Brooke walked into the gym. "Where have you been?" he yelled.

Nathan looked at him and laughed. "Detention."

"Detention?" he looked at them. Brooke walked over to the girls sitting on the bench. "That's going to cost you a half an hour after practice."

"Whatever," Nathan muttered he joined the guys on the court and started to shoot baskets.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

"Detention?" Peyton smiled. "Again?" Aubrey looked up and laughed a little.

"What are you laughing at whoe?" Brooke asked getting in her face.

"Oh come on Brooke, it's not worth it," Peyton laughed backing her away from Aubrey. "Now we can practice."

Brooke shrugged. "NATHAN and I were late this morning because we were having sex in the shower." She smiled at Aubrey.

"Oh my God Brooke," Peyton covered her eyes. "Way too much information."

Brooke smiled. "Right, like you weren't doing that with Fugitive boy last night in Nathan's apartment? Why do you think he had to stay at mine?"

"Yours?" Peyton asked confused.

"You didn't know?" Brooke's smile faded. "Karen, Andy, Lucas, and Haley surprised me last night with my new apartment."

"No," Peyton said sadly. Nobody had included her in helping Brooke out. "I guess they didn't tell me."

"Oh," Brooke sighed. "Well it was no big deal," she lied. "They just moved all my stuff and bought me a cake."

"Oh," Peyton nodded smiling. She tried to hide the fact that she was upset nobody told her.

"So did you have a good night?" Brooke asked happily. "You and Jegelski have some fun?"

"Thank you so much Brooke. That meant so much to me. I so owe you."

Brooke smiled and nodded again. "Ah P. Sawyer, you'll owe me for the rest of my life, don't even worry about it."

_Sorry, I know this chapter was kind of short. I just wanted to update before I did some hard core cleaning for my forth of July party tomorrow. I hope you liked it. Remember, I'm always up for suggestions and ideas :) -Brittney_


	19. Internation You Day

Laura, I really appreciate your review. I enjoy using a song for each chapter, but I've always done the songs the same way every chapter because someone mentioned they liked it that way…its hard to think of different ways but I'll attempt to use the lyrics in a different way if it will make it better. Let me know.

**To everyone else,** Thanks for the reviews. You're the reason I keep updating.

**Chapter Nineteen**

"**Internation You Day"**

Brooke laid her head on the wooden counter and closed her eyes. "I can't take this anymore," she whispered mostly to herself.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked sitting down on the chair in front of her.

Brooke's head shot up and faced her. "Oh my God, Haley, I need your help!" she cried. She pointed to all the people in the café waiting for their food. "These people just keeps asking for things, I can't even sit down. These shoes are killing me," she plopped her foot on the chair for Haley to see the high heels she was wearing.

"Are you kidding? Heals and serving? Are you crazy?" she smiled. "I have a pair of tennis shoes in my car. I'll go get them for you."

Brooke smiled, "Thank you," she walked over to a table and set a plate of country fried chicken down for the man.

"Actually, miss," he called as she started to walk away. She quickly turned around. "I ordered eggs benedict."

"I'm sorry," she said taking the plate back. "Ill go grab that for you." She threw the plate on the counter in the kitchen. "Who ordered this? Who ordered this?" she asked herself.

Haley walked back with the pair of shoes for her. "Here you go," she set them down. She grabbed an apron from the rack on the wall. She picked up the plate of chicken and walked toward the corner booth handing it to the woman. She came back picked up the Eggs benedict and brought it to the man who had the chicken only minuets ago.

"You are a lifesaver!" Brooke hugged her. "Thank you Haley! How did you know where those went?"

"They used to be regulars." She told her. "Ill help you out for a little while and then I have to go."

Brooke worked alongside Haley until she saw Karen come inside. "Hey," she waved.

"Hey Brooke," Karen smiled. She noticed Haley helping tables. "What is she doing?"

"Oh my God Karen," she cried. "I was swamped and I'm horrible at this. Haley has been helping me out until I can get on my feet."

Karen shook her head. "Haley, come here!" she called.

"Oh hey Karen," she smiled sitting down.

"Take the apron off,"

Haley did what she was told and handed it to her. "What's wrong?"

"Brooke, I'm paying you to work here, not Haley. I can't afford to pay you both."

"Oh, it's no big deal," Haley told her. "I was just helping her out."

Karen shook her head. "I'll pay you tonight Haley but it's only going to be half of what I was going to pay Brooke, and Brooke you'll get the other half."

Brooke sighed. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

"It's okay," Karen smiled. "Lets have a conversation."

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Peyton hung up the phone with Nathan and smiled at her dad. "Sorry," she smiled. "I was just giving him some ideas." She told him sitting on her bed.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" he asked. "I know it's upsetting you with everything you found out recently."

Peyton shook her head. "I just, am so confused. I don't know how to feel about this," she told him truthfully.

"What do you say we have a conversation, me, you and Ellie next week?" he suggested. "We can answer all your questions."

"Okay," Peyton accepted. "I guess."

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Lucas shut the door of his bedroom and came face to face with a girl he had never seen before. "Hi?" he asked confused. "Do I know you?" she was about to knock on his door.

She shook her head. "Not that I know of," she smiled. "I'm Lacey." She was blonde and had perfectly straight hair. Her blue eyes were sparkling in the light. "I'm a friend of Haley's." she told him. "I heard she might be staying here."

Lucas looked at her with amazement. She was beautiful. "No, she's not staying here." He laughed. "She's staying at a hotel right now, I can take you there if you want."

"It's okay," she said. "My brother and I have a car out front," she said. "If you can just point us in the right direction."

Lucas opened his door again and scribbled directions on a piece of paper from his dresser. It was the only thing that hadn't been packed in boxes for the move. "Here you go," he handed it to her. "By the way, I'm Lucas."

She smiled. "Well it was nice to meet you Lucas, I'll see you around."

Lucas followed her out the door and watched her walk to the car. He noticed her getting in the back seat of the Mercedes Benz convertible. He couldn't see the man sitting next to her, but found it funny that someone was driving both of them. "Must be nice," he muttered. He took off toward the basketball court.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Brooke slammed open the apartment door and threw the keys on the ground. She was crying and incredibly unhappy. She flipped on the lights to see rose petals spread across the white carpet. "What the hell?" she said out loud. She wiped the tears from her face and walked into the kitchen.

The table was covered in flowers and a piece of paper sat on top of it. "I have something to tell you." Was the only thing it said? Brooke set the paper down confused and walked into her bedroom to change out of her work clothes. When she opened the door she heard music playing.

"Without you my life is incomplete my days are absolutely gray and so I'll try let your heart know for sure that I have so much more to tell you every single day" she listen to the lyrics.

"I love you," Nathan said behind her.

She turned around and jumped when she saw him. He was holding a single red rose and a small box of jewelry "Oh my God," she whispered. This was the last thing she was expecting to find when she got home.

Nathan walked over to her and hugged her. "What's wrong?" he asked seeing her tear stained eyes.

"I got fired." She said taking the box and opening it. Inside lay a small diamond bracelet. "Oh my God Nathan, this is amazing."

"Karen fired you?" Nathan asked confused. "Why would she do that? She was the one who gave you the job." He clasped the bracelet around her wrist.

"I don't really want to talk about it," she whispered staring straight into his eyes. "I can't believe all of this, what is this for?"

"Well," Nathan kissed her. "It was actually Peyton's idea. She said she owed you."

Brooke smiled at the thought of her friend being so creative. "Well its amazing," she told him. "Thank you,"

"Of course," Nathan smiled. He wondered if she heard the words he had told her.

"I love you too," she read his mind. "I never thought it could happen, but I do. I love you more than you could ever know."

Nathan held her tight against her body and set her down on the bed. He kissed her for a few minuets before they fell asleep together in each other's arms.

**Lyrics**-(**No Use For A Name**).

**To come: **Lucas runs into Lacey playing basketball. Haley goes to dinner with Lacey's brother. Brooke and Nathan talk about Deb. Peyton goes to see Ellie with her father.


	20. Story So Far

**Chapter Twenty**

**"Story So Far"**

The doors of Tric stood opened while people young and old filled the club. Brooke stood at Peyton's side as she watched **New Found Glory** take the stage. "This is unbelievable." She told her.

"Thank you," Peyton smiled. "I worked really hard to get them here."

"I can't remember the time or place, or what you were wearing. It's unclear about how we met, all I know it was the best conversation I've ever had." Brooke sang along with the music.

Peyton smiled at her friend. She was really broadening her music horizons. She was proud of her for actually knowing the words. She pulled her next to her and hugged her. "Thanks Brooke, for everything that you've done lately."

"You're welcome Peyton," she smiled. "I'm glad we can be friends like this."

Peyton watched Nathan talking to Lucas across the room. She smiled at them. She wished Jake were there. Jake was out of town with his family and Jenny for the weekend.

"Hey," Karen smiled at the girls as she walked by them. "Peyton, this is great," she told her.

"Thank you," Peyton mouthed.

"Brooke, can I borrow you for a second?"

Brooke followed Karen into a prep room and sat down on a couch. "What's up?" she asked.

"I just wanted to apologize for being so hard on you the other day. I'm sorry for firing you; I just meant to say that it wasn't going to work out. We can find you something else to do."

Brooke laughed. "It's okay Karen. I can find a job on my own." She smiled. "I'm not mad, serving just isn't for me." 

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Haley and Lucas sat in the back of Tric watching **New Found Glory **play. Haley's friend Lacey and her brother Josh were sitting across from them. "So you're Chris's cousin?" Lucas asked Lacey.

Lacey nodded. "That's how I met Haley. Chris brought her to our family reunion and we became friends."

"Oh," Lucas said eyeing Haley. He wasn't sure why she would be at Chris's family reunion.

Haley was deep in conversation with Josh when she looked up and saw Nathan standing next to Peyton. She smiled at him and waved. He waved back. She wondered if it bothered her seeing Josh talking to her. Probably not, he moved on.

"Is that Nathan?" Josh asked looking where Haley's eyes were.

"Yeah, that's him. The brunette over there is Brooke, his new girlfriend."

Josh laughed. "You're prettier than her."

"Yeah right," Haley shook her head. "Brooke is gorgeous."

"No seriously, I think you're prettier than her."

Haley blushed and caught Josh staring at her. "Thanks," she whispered shyly.

**New Found Glory** ended their set and Peyton took the stage. "Thanks everyone for coming. I would like to ask Haley James to join us on the stage for old times sake. As most of you know, Haley is releasing a record next summer, and was recently touring with **The Wreckers.**" Peyton yelled and started clapping.

Haley nervously stood up and walked to the stage mouthing 'What are you doing?' to Peyton.

Peyton shrugged and smiled as Haley took the stage. She walked down the stairs and saw Ellie standing in the crowd. "What are you doing here?" she marched up to her. Haley's voice was now overbearing the audience. She pulled Ellie outside. "What are you doing here?" she asked again.

"I just wanted to see you at work." She smiled. "Peyton, this is amazing."

"Thanks," she sighed. "Look, I'm really busy tonight, and this means a lot to me. Can we please keep our conversation for another day?"

Ellie nodded and turned to leave. "I'll see you and your dad later this week." She called as she walked to her car. Peyton went back inside.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

"Did you have fun tonight?" Nathan asked pulling into Brooke's parking lot.

Brooke smiled and nodded. "It was amazing." She pulled her curled hair back into a ponytail. "Do you want to come in?"

"I can't," he sighed. "I'm really tired. I'm going to go to the house and finish getting my mom's boxes out."

Brooke smiled at him talking about his mom. That was the one subject they didn't really talk about. "All of her stuff is still in the house?"

"Yeah," he told her. "The lawyers want me to take the boxes and put them in storage. She's trying to have someone sell the house for her."

"Why don't we go see her this week?" Brooke suggested.

Nathan shook his head, "No way, I don't want to see her."

"Can I ask why?" she questioned. She hoped he didn't chew her out for asking. She genuinely wanted to know.

"It's just so hard Brooke," he whispered. "I saw her in handcuffs after she confessed to the murder. I never thought she would do it."

"What if she didn't?"

"What do you mean?' Nathan asked. "Of course she did. She confessed to it."

"But Nathan, think about it. What if she didn't do it?" she pointed out. "It's too obvious. What if she's covering for someone else? Why don't you just go see her, here her out?"

"But what if she really did do it?" he asked. "I don't want to see her if she did."

Brooke closed her eyes and kissed him on the cheek. "Let's just go see her this week, we'll go from there."

"Thanks," he kissed her back. He watched her walk into the apartment building. She was really something.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Lucas, Haley, Lacey and Josh pulled up to the river court in the back of the car Haley rented. Lacey jumped out of the car and grabbed the basketball shooting it and making it. "You play basketball?" Lucas asked.

Lacey laughed. "Of course I do." She smiled. "I love basketball."

"Wow," Lucas smiled. "That's awesome."

Lacey shot again, "What do you say we play a little one on one?"

"Fine," Lucas accepted. "You're on."

Haley watched the two playing basketball and sat next to Josh. "So have you talk to Chris lately?" she asked.

"No, he's overseas doing a solo tour." He told her. "I don't really talk to him much, I'm not a big fan."

Haley laughed. "Not a lot of people are,"

"You obviously were," he pointed out. "You're the one who dated him."

Haley's eyes cringed at the way that sounded. "Yeah, about that. Can we never mention that to any of my friends?" she asked.

"Sure," Josh nodded, "But why?"

"It's something that I'm not proud of. I hurt a lot of people while I dated Chris. Most of them don't know." She told him.

Josh nodded, "Oh Haley James. Who knew you could keep such a secret?' he smiled. He reached over and kissed her.

_So this chapter was a little different. Thank you for the reviews on the last one. Sorry but I'm really anti Lucas/Haley.. so that one's just not going to happen. I'm not sure if Haley's going to hook up with Josh, or if Lucas is going to hook up with Lacey. That might be too easy. More Brooke/Nathan scenes next chapter I promise because they're my favorite, and obviously a lot of yours also. Please review. -Brittney_


	21. No Seat Belt Song

I read everyone's reviews last night while I was completely wasted. I was determined to write a chapter so I started to last night. It was actually pretty funny; it didn't make sense at all. But here's the real thing. I hope everyone still likes it because everyone wants different things to happen.

**LucasnHaley- **I'm not sure why I don't like Lucas & Haley together. I think because it's just too Joey/Dawsonish. They seem like better friends to me. I was never a Naley fan either. Honestly, I've never been a real big fan of Haley period. I'm not sure if she's going to end up with this Josh character, or Chris, or even just be alone. Everything changes right?

**l-a-c-18- **Thanks for the review, I love your long reviews. Almost everyone that comments say they want more Brathan scenes. I promise I'm working on it. I just feel like I should write everyone else in too.

**brucasbrathangrl- **I love Brathan too. I'm undecided on Josh & Lacey and if they'll just play a weekend visit or dating Lucas & Haley etc. They might just stir up some trouble. A few people don't want Haley or Lucas to date them.. so I'm not sure where I'm going with it quite yet. Thanks for reviewing.

**Cindy- **Watch out, more Brathan ahead.

**Mony19- **It's funny because this show basically revolves around Lucas's life. Kind of like Dawson's Creek was obviously for Dawson. But in both shows, I don't like either of them much. I'm not a fan of Lucas either. For some reason he just bothers me. I'll prob eventually find someone for Haley, but I'm not her biggest fan either. Thanks for the review!

**Chapter Twenty-One**

"**No Seatbelt Song"**

So take me and break me and make me strong like you.  
I'll be forever grateful to this and you.  
It's only you, beautiful.  
Or I don't want anyone.  
If I can choose it's only you.

Nathan looked to the passenger side of the car and smiled at Brooke. She was so beautiful. He thought the same thing every time he looked at her. He looked down to her wrist and saw the perfect diamond bracelet clasped around it. It was amazing. He thought back to the time he gave Haley a bracelet. It had been from a crackerjack box.

Brooke smiled at him. "What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked as he stared at her.

Nathan shook his head and didn't reply. He just wanted to stare at her. He felt like if he took his eyes off of her he would lose her. He smiled again and continued to drive.

The two of them pulled into the parking lot of the **Davidson Correctional Center** and parked near the back. Nathan shut the car off and opened the door for Brooke. The two of them walked silently together toward the door.

Brooke could sense his nervousness. She reached down and held his hand in hers. Nathan smiled at her and squeezed it tightly. That simple gesture gave him all the confidence he needed. He opened the door with a simple stride and walked inside.

"We're here to see Deb Scott," Nathan told the guard sitting at the desk. The man handed him a clipboard.

"Fill out your name, her name," he pointed to Brooke, 'Who you are here to see, I need both of your ID's, and I then take a seat in the waiting room. When one of the booths opens up, I'll call your name. Sit down, pick up the phone and wait until she appears on the monitor." The man said quickly.

"Oh, I'm not going to see her," Brooke shook her head. "I'm just waiting."

"Then I just need your ID." He said to Nathan. "But you still need to fill out the line," he told Brooke.

Nathan filled out all of the information and sat down in a chair with Brooke. "This is all kind of scary." She said as she watched an Asian woman talk into a TV monitor to another man she guessed to be her husband.

The man at the desk stood up and pointed to a free monitor. "Nathan Scott," he called.

Nathan nervously stood up and walked over to the monitor. "Here goes," he whispered to Brooke.

He sat down at the monitor and picked up the phone placing it at his ear. He watched as his mom appeared in the screen. She was wearing a full body green suite that read NUMBER 19 across it. Her hair was getting longer but looked messy. She didn't wear make up and she looked like she had been crying a lot. "Nate." She whispered in the phone. "I'm so glad you came."

Nathan smiled at her. He missed hearing her voice. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, I was just having a hard time with everything," he told her.

"Did Haley come with you?"

"No," he shook his head. "We got the annulment." He told her. "It's over,"

"I'm so sorry Nate. You must feel horrible. I wish there was something I could do."

Nathan shook his head. "It's okay. I actually came here with someone else," he smiled.

"Who?" she asked intrigued. She shifted the phone on her ear.

"Brooke,"

"Brooke Davis?" Deb smiled. "I never would have thought. She's a pretty girl."

Nathan laughed and nodded his head. "So why'd you do it mom?"

Deb's smile faded. "How about we talk about that another time," she suggested. "I just want to catch up with you."

Nathan agreed.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Peyton shuffled the food around on her place and looked up at her father. He was sitting next to Ellie and smiling at her as they talked about old times. It was incredibly awkward and she was considering just standing up and heading for the door.

"Peyton, you're awfully quiet," Ellie pointed out. "Is this too much for you?"

"It's fine," Peyton lied. It wasn't fine. She wanted nothing to do with this woman, her father, or anyone else for that matter. She wanted to run away, be on her own and never talk to anyone again at that second.

Ellie was her mother. She was going to have to accept that. Her father and Ellie were going to keep in touch and Peyton was going to be forced to see this woman. She mad a promise to herself to attempt to accept it.

The person she thought was her mother was dead. She loved everything about her and would always consider her as her mother, but she had to come to accept this new woman.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Haley waved as Josh and Lacey pulled out of the hotel parking lot. She was glad they came. Josh gave her a perspective on life that most people didn't. He had kissed her, and for the first time in her life, she turned him down. The only two people she had ever been with were Nathan and Chris. Now she felt a new sense of power of herself.

She picked up her phone and called Lucas. She wanted to go to the mall and pick up some new clothes. It was funny how Lucas had suddenly embraced her as his best friend again. Lately it was just the two of them again. Nathan and Brooke had each other; Peyton and Jake had each other. They were on the outsides.

"Hey Luke," she said into the phone. "Do you want to do something?"

"Not really," he told her. "I don't feel good."

"Oh, okay," she accepted. She wondered what it was. "Well, I hope you feel better."

"Thanks," Lucas told her. He hung up the phone. The truth was, he hadn't had it his heart medication in months."

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Nathan drove to his apartment with Brooke at his side. It meant the world to him that she came along with him.

The meeting with his mom went well. She had an appeal hearing in a couple weeks, and if she won, she could get a lesser sentence. He planned on being there. He was going to come back in a couple days to visit and talk about what happened.

Brooke pressed play on the DVD player. She watched as two girls came across the screen kissing. "You're watching porn?" Brooke yelled at Nathan with a disgusted look.

Nathan looked at her with surprise. He quickly thought of the time Haley saw the porn on his computer. "I, uh, no, Tim must have left it in there,"

Brooke shook her head and sat down on his lap. "That's too bad because I thought it was kind of kinky." She whispered kissing his ear.

Nathan kissed her softly and smiled with surprised. Every aspect about her amazed him.

Lyrics to **"No Seatbelt Song"**-by **Brand New.**


	22. Martini Kiss

**Mony19**-I like Deb too. There was a time when I didn't like her when she was Anti Haley, but then I started to not be much of a Haley fan, so Deb came back with good graces. Your review made me realize I haven't written Tim and Skillz in at all, I may get to that.

**L-a-c-18**-On the show, I think it might be too predictable for Deb to have killed Dan, so that could be a possibility in my story too.

**LucasnHaley**-I appreciate your honesty about my story, but I still can't say that I agree with you. Obviously we're too different people and have two different opinions but the way I see it Lucas and Haley are too Dawon & Joeyish. Not exactly, of course there are differences. I'm just not a Laley fan. That's all. I'm glad you still read my story even though we see things different ways.

**Mellie**-I'm glad you still read my story even though there are errors. I don't know anybody that can read my fics before I publish them, but I will try and triple check the errors. Unfort I don't have time to go back and fix the other chapters but from now on I'll be more cautious. Thank you.

Special thanks for the reviews from **brucasbrathangrl, ababy99, Cindyvietkutie10, Dlijw490at6uodl**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

"**Martini Kiss"**

There's poison in my drinking glass  
Don't stop just sip it down  
And in a swirling masquerade of sound  
My body hits the ground  
I'm beautiful when I'm asleep  
Martini kisses land  
On my blistered bloody scarlet lips  
The bottles in my hand

"Tim! What's up you sexy bitch?" Nathan yelled to his friend down the hallway of the school. Tim was leaning against a locker talking to a group of girls.

Tim looked at him and laughed. "Are you drunk?"

Nathan smirked and shook his head. "Maybe,"

Tim gave him a high five. "You better sleep it off because tonight is going to be a great party," he told him. "I expect you to be there, and don't forget to bring Brooke Davis' sweet ass!"

Nathan glared at him and started laughing. "Ill be there, but Brooke Davis' sweet ass, belongs to me." He warned.

"Whatever," Tim said walking away. "As long as you tap that for me." He muttered.

Nathan shook his head in disgust at Tim's comment and continued to walk down the hallway. "Peyton," he smiled. He slid against the locker next to her. "What's up Curly Q?"

"Curly Q?" Peyton asked sarcastically.

"That's what I said didn't I?"

Peyton could smell the liquor on Nathan's breath. She gave him a look of disgust but couldn't help laugh. "Where's the wonderful Brooke Davis this afternoon?"

"Right here!" Brooke exclaimed sliding between the two of them. "Hello sexy," she kissed Nathan on the cheek. "And my best friend, how are you today?"

Peyton raised her shoulders. "Oh you know, alive."

"That's my grim reaper for ya," she rolled her eyes at Nathan.

"Hey! What's with the name calling?" she asked jokingly. Brooke shrugged.

"So will you be joining me tonight at Tim's party?" Nathan asked Brooke holding her hand.

Brooke shook her head no. "Actually, I already have a date," she told him.

Nathan looked at her and laughed. "Yeah right."

"No, I'm serious," she said. She grabbed Peyton by the arm. "Peyton."

Nathan sighed with relief. "Nice one,"

Peyton smiled. "It's okay Brooke; I'm not really up for partying tonight. I just want Jake to come home."

"When does fugitive boy return?" she asked cheerily. "I thought you said he was only gone for the week?"

"He comes home tomorrow," she stated. "I can't wait."

"Well P. Sawyer. Good thing he's not home tonight, because you and I, have a date." She forced her to agree.

"Fine," Peyton accepted and walked away.

"That's kind of kinky. Can I watch?" Nathan smiled kissing her behind the ear.

Brooke playfully hit him in the chest. "Scott, you're a pig," she laughed leaving him in the hallway and going to class.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Karen threw the last box into her new house and smiled at Andy. "Well, I guess we're home."

Lucas sat down at the table and watched them.

"Are you okay?" Karen asked looking at her son. "You look really worn out."

"I'm okay," he said holding his chest. "We just carried a hundred thousand boxes in here." He pointed out. "Of course I'm tired." He lied. He was tired from carrying the boxes, but more so from his heart. He knew things were going bad. If he didn't find a way to get back on his heart medication he could end up in the hospital, or even worse, dead.

"You should get going to school, you can still make a few classes," she told him setting her keys on the table. "You can take my car if you want."

Lucas shook his head no. "Do you think it would be okay if I stayed home for the rest of the day?" he asked.

Karen looked at Andy for approval. "I guess it would be alright. Just today though, you hear me?"

"Thank you," he mouthed to her. He walked down the hallway to his new bedroom.

Once inside Lucas picked up the phone and dialed Brooke's cell phone number.

"Hello?" Brooke answered.

"Hey Brooke, it is Lucas."

"Oh hey you, what's up? Why aren't you at school? I thought you were going to have lunch with me today?"

"I'm sorry, I was helping my mom move all our stuff this morning, and she said I could take the rest of the day off. I don't feel so well."

"Are you okay?" She asked nervously. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine," he lied.

"Lucas, you're lying, I know when you're lying. I'm leaving school and coming over." She hung up the phone.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Brooke knocked on the door and Andy opened it. "Hi Andy," she smiled.

"Brooke," he nodded. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

Karen entered the door way and looked at her with confusion. "What are you doing?" she followed along with Andy's words.

"It's about Lucas. He called me and said he wasn't feeling well. I know something's wrong. He won't say what. I just have a horrible feeling," she told them worried.

Karen immediately took off toward Lucas' room and Brooke was close behind her. When she opened the door she found Lucas lying on the bed holding his heart. "Oh my God," she cried. "What is it?" she ran to his side.

"You're going to be mad," he whispered.

"Lucas you need to tell her. What is it? Do we need to get you to a doctor?" Brooke jumped in.

"I lied," he whispered. "About the test, I lied. I have HCMC. Dan was paying for my medication."

"Oh my God," Karen cried. Tears were pouring from her eyes. She was torn between anger and confusion. She had to help her son regardless of how mad she was at him. "We have to get you to a doctor." She helped him up from the bed.

"I'll come with," Brooke followed.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

"Where is Brooke?" Peyton asked Nathan on the phone.

"I don't know," Nathan told her. "I thought you were the one going on a date with her, not me." He joked.

"She was supposed to be here at seven." Peyton explained. "It's eight thirty. I called her cell phone. She didn't answer."

"I'm right here," Brooke said walking into the room and interrupting the phone conversation. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were watering from crying.

"She's here," Peyton told Nathan. "I'll see you later," she hung up the phone. "Brooke what happened?"

Brooke looked at her with deep concern on her face. "Lucas has that medical thing that Nathan didn't get from his dad." She explained. "I guess his dad used to pay for the medication. He hasn't had it since he died." She let out.

Peyton looked at her shocked by what she heard. "Is he okay?"

Brooke shrugged. "I went with Karen to the doctor. They're going to get the medication now, but they're not sure if Lucas can fully recover from the time he missed it. He might have to quit basketball and everything."

"Wow," Peyton said, "That's horrible. At least he'll have it now."

"Yeah," Brooke nodded. "I'm sorry I'm late. It was kind of a hectic day. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Peyton told her. She was dressed in a short blue jean skirt and a light green long sleeve t shirt. "I'm ready. Do you want to get ready first?"

Brooke shook her head no. "I'm okay," she glanced in the mirror. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a red spaghetti strap tank top. She brushed her hair down with her fingers and smiled. "I just need to cheer myself up a little bit."

"I have just the trick." Peyton smiled. She handed her a small bottle of Bacardi 151.

"Peyton Sawyer," Brooke smiled. "Who knew you hid liquor?"

"I wasn't hiding it," Peyton pointed out. "It was sitting on my dresser. I took a couple shots to get myself ready for tonight."

Brooke took a drink off the bottle. "I guess we're walking to Tim's."

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Tim opened the door and let Peyton and Brooke inside. Brooke stepped in the door way and he slapped her ass. "Tim!" she screamed. "Do not touch me ever again!"

Tim looked disappointed but put his arm around Peyton. "No," she said simply. She followed Brooke toward the kitchen.

"What's going on in here?" Brooke said loudly as she sat down at the kitchen table. Nathan, Theresa, Skills, Mouth, and Erica were playing a game.

"We're playing quarters." Skills explained. "Do you want to play?"

Brooke nodded and grabbed Peyton's arm. "We sure do!" She picked up the quarter and bounced it off the table completely missing the shot glass.

Nathan picked up the quarter and shot it into the glass. "Brooke," he smiled. "This shot is for you."

Brooke took the glass and drank the shot making a disgusted face. "What is this?"

"Everclear." Mouth laughed.

"I made it, so I get to go again," Nathan explained. He picked up the quarter and made another shot. "Peyton," he smiled handing her the cup. Peyton drank the shot.

Nathan made 12 more quarters into the shot glass giving Brooke and Peyton each 6 more shots.

"I can't do anymore," Brooke cried slurring her words. She was sitting on Peyton's lap as Peyton almost fell off the chair.

"Me either," Peyton whispered. Her head was leaning against the side of the chair. She looked up slightly as she saw Jake coming into the room. "Jake," she whispered.

Brooke turned to see him walking toward them. "What are you doing here?" she asked confused. "I thought you were on a road trip to Iraq?"

"Iraq?" Jake questioned laughing at how drunk she was. "Brooke, why would I be in Iraq?"

Brooke shrugged. "I don't know, I thought that's where fugitives were."

Jake rolled his eyes and took Peyton by the arm. She could hardly hold her head up. "Let's get you home," he smiled.

"Okay," Peyton accepted. She reached for his arm and fell to the floor.

"You got it?" Nathan asked standing up and helping Peyton up. Jake nodded.

"Bye Peyton!" Brooke yelled.

"Bye," Peyton whispered but nobody could hear her.

"I blame you for this," she said loudly to Nathan. "I blame you for getting us drunk, and for trying to take advantage of me."

"I didn't try to take advantage of you!" he defended. He held her up by the arm.

"That's right!" she pointed out. "You didn't. That's why I'm mad at you."

Nathan laughed at her and helped carry her out of the kitchen. "Could you take me upstairs?" she asked.

He held Brooke in his arms and took her upstairs. She stumbled into the bathroom and slammed the door. She was almost to the toilet when she started to throw up.

"Oh Brooke, I'm sorry," he said holding her hair back as she stared into the toilet bowl. He could see the tears coming down from her eyes as she threw up. As soon as she was finished he held her in his arms until she fell asleep.

Lyrics to "**Martini Kiss**''-by** Senses Fail**


	23. Finished In A Day

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

"**Finished in a day"**

Cornered with my back against the wall  
the lights are dimming by the minute  
can someone call my other self  
let them know ill be just fine

Lucas looked up and saw Haley sitting next to his hospital bed. "Hey you," he smiled at her.

"Hi," she whispered. She looked down at him. He was so helpless. She wanted to jump in the bed next to him and hug him forever. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," he whispered. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you,"

Haley nodded. She wanted to be strong for him. She was extremely upset that she found out from Brooke. Brooke knew before his best friend. They hadn't even been talking a few weeks ago. They agreed to one stupid lunch together and all of the sudden he calls her first? She smiled at him. She knew it was a fake smile. She did it anyway. "When do you get out?"

"Couple hours," he told her. He reached over and held her hand. "I called to tell Brooke I was canceling our lunch plans." He practically read her mind. "I told her I wasn't feeling well. She rushed over like a bat out of hell." He explained.

"I'm not mad," Haley somewhat lied. She was mad, but his explanation was logical. "I'm not mad that you told Brooke, I'm mad that you didn't tell anyone else sooner."

"I was scared,"

"Are you scared now?" he nodded his head. "Good. You should be. This is a serious matter Luke. We have to get you help."

"Andy is paying for my medication." He told her. "It's going to be fine. The doctor said we probably caught it soon enough."

Haley smiled and hugged him. She couldn't bear to loose her best friend.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

A single drop of water fell down Peyton's back as she climbed out of the shower. She wrapped herself in a towel and looked in the mirror. Her eyes looked sunken in and her face was red. "Thanks Brooke," she said aloud. She bent down and set her head on the toilet. She was going to be sick again.

It wasn't Brooke's fault she got so drunk. Technically it was Nathan's fault. Brooke just dragged her to the party in the first place. She had woken up in a pile of sweat in her bed. She didn't even know how she got to her bed.

A loud crash came from downstairs and Peyton jumped. "Daddy?" she called peaking out the door with the towel wrapped around her body. She walked into her closet and threw a pair of cotton shorts and a t shirt on. She tip toed down the stairs with wet hair.

When she stepped into the kitchen she saw broken glass all over the floor. Jake was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal and her father was sweeping up the glass. "I'm sorry," he said looking up at her. "I broke a plate."

Peyton smiled and sat down at the table. "What are you doing here?" she asked Jake nervously. Jake had met her father briefly when he came home, but they had never really spent time with him together.

Jake looked at her and smiled. He could tell she didn't remember him taking care of her. "I just stopped by to tell you I'm back. I went into your room, you were sleeping. When I came down your dad was making breakfast and he asked me to stay." He explained lying. He winked at her and smiled.

Peyton laughed a little bit and winked back at him. Why was he winking at her anyway? She stood up and hugged him. "I'm glad your back," she said happily.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Brooke rolled over causing her head to hit the wall. "What the hell?" she muttered. She opened her eyes and saw the tile floor beneath her. "Owe," she covered her eyes. She sat up and saw Nathan slumped against the door watching her. "Oh no." she whispered understanding that she must have gotten sick.

Her jeans were stained with red juice and there was a large whole in the knee. Her hair was matted to her face and she guessed she must have been crying. "Hi," Nathan smiled.

"Hi," she half smiled back. "Do you mind leaving me alone for a couple minuets?"

Nathan shook his head and left the bathroom. Brooke stood up and splashed some water on her face. She wondered why Nathan hadn't taken her home, but just left her in Tim's bathroom. At least he had stayed with her. "Okay," she whispered coming out of the bathroom.

Nathan took her hand but didn't speak. He held onto it tightly as they walked down the stairs of Tim's house.

The living room was covered with random beer bottles and keg cups. A few people were asleep on the floor and people covered the couches. Nathan noticed Tim staring out the window. "Hey," he called to him. "What are you doing awake?"

Tim turned around and looked at Nathan helping Brooke down the stairs. "Wow, if I would have known you looked like that when you woke up I would have never tried to get on you." He said laughing.

Brooke rolled her eyes and gave him the finger. She was just about to the door when she felt herself starting to get sick again. She ran out the door and fell into the grass.

Nathan and Tim stood from the door watching her. "Do you need help?" he called as she hurled over a bush.

"You're going to clean that up!" Tim yelled.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Tim, why are you up?" he asked again.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Something just told me that I should get up."

"You're so weird man," Nathan said walking out the door to help Brooke to his car. He looked at the driveway and saw a police officer walking toward them. "Shit!" he muttered.

"I told you," Tim said nervously. "See-ya" he pushed him out the door and locked it.

Nathan stood facing the police officer as he walked over to Brooke's side and put his hand on her arm. "Are you okay miss?" he asked kneeling down next to her.

Brooke looked up at him with tears in her eyes and nodded. "I'm fine," she lied. 

The officer stood up and walked over to Nathan. "Do you live here?" he asked.

"No," Nathan told him.

"I have a report there was a party here last night, and someone has alcohol poisoning." He told him. "Is this your girlfriend?"

Nathan looked at the officer confused. "Yeah,"

"What's her name?"

"Brooke Davis," he told him.

The officer looked down at his notebook and nodded. "Brooke Davis, that's the name I have here."

Nathan didn't understand what was going on. He spent the entire night in the bathroom with Brooke. Nobody even knew she was sick. How could someone have reported she had alcohol poisoning? "I don't understand," he told him. "I've been with her all night. Nobody reported poisoning."

The officer shook his head. "Erica Marsh," he said watching Nathan's face to see if he recognized her name. "Peyton Sawyer?"

The only two girls playing the game with them last night. "Wait, they said Brooke had alcohol poisoning?"

"No, Erica Marsh was hospitalized this morning for alcohol poisoning." He explained. "She told us that Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer were drinking the same alcohol. Her blood showed traces of ecstasy."

Someone put Ecstasy in the bottle before they poured the shots. Nathan suddenly became very nervous. He had been the one giving all the shots to Peyton and Brooke. What if he was accused of drugging them?

"We're going to need to bring Brooke in and test her. Is Peyton inside?"

Nathan shook his head no. He hadn't seen her when they were leaving. "I think she went home with her boyfriend last night," he explained.

The officer nodded. "My partner Officer Woodrow will give the two of you a ride to the hospital."

Nathan watched the officer helping Brooke up from the grass. Brooke was protesting but went along with him anyway. Nathan followed him to the car and climbed in the backseat with Brooke. She laid her head on his shoulder and fell asleep. Nathan stared out the window with confusion.

**Lyrics**-"**Finished in a day**"**-Halifax**


	24. Swing Life Away

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

"**Swing Life Away"**

I've got some friends, some that I hardly know  
But we've had some times, I wouldn't trade for the world  
We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go

Peyton put the CD on Brooke's bedside and sat down on the bed beside her. She laid her head on the pillow and looked out the window. "How do you think everything go so screwed up?" she asked watching the rain fall.

Tree Hill was cloudy. It had been raining for three days. It was Wednesday. Brooke hadn't seen Nathan since Sunday. Peyton hadn't seen Jake either. Neither Brooke nor Peyton left Peyton's apartment the entire time. Brooke asked Karen to call the school, and Peyton spoke with her dad. They were taking a mini vacation.

"I can't believe Nathan is getting questioned for everything that happened at Tim's party," Brooke pointed out. "Why would Erica, of all people accuse him of drugging us?"

Peyton shook her head. "I don't know," she held tightly onto the pillow at her side. "The officer that came to my house said Erica's urine had 85mg of EX in it. Apparently that's an entire pill. There had to be a ton of it in there. I just can't believe I let something like this happen to me again, after what happened at that party last year."

"Nathan brought the bottle to the party." Brooke pointed out. "It does look suspicious."

Peyton sat up and looked at her friend. "You don't think Nathan did it do you?"

Brooke shook her head no. "Of course not; Why would he?" she laughed. "He can have me whenever he wants." She giggled. "Plus, if he was going to drug anyone to take advantage of anyone why would he drug you or Erica and spend the entire night with me?"

"Hey, I'm not accusing him!" Peyton exclaimed. "Have you talked to him?"

"I haven't seen him since we went to the hospital." She told her. "He sat in the room while they examined me. The police asked him questions, and then he took me home."

"It's kind of weird that he hasn't called you or anything," Peyton pointed out. "Not to mention you haven't gone to school for three days and he's not even asking about you?"

"Hey Mrs. Point our fingers at Nathan. I haven't seen Jake calling here obsessively!" she cried. "You haven't been to school in three days either!"

"True," Peyton's face grew sad. "I wonder why our boyfriends don't care about us," she wined. "Actually, now that you mention it, nobody has called us. Haley, Lucas, nobody."

Brooke laid back down on the bed next to Peyton and closed her eyes. "I guess they just don't care."

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Lucas stood on his porch looking out at the sky. Was it ever going to stop raining? He watched as Nathan walked toward him. "Hey," Nathan spoke sitting down on the steps holding his jacket over his head.

"Come inside," Lucas motioned. He grabbed the door knob and went into his bedroom. He sat down on his bed and motioned for Nathan to sit down on his computer chair. "What's up?"

Nathan shrugged. "I came by to see how you're feeling. I heard about the hospital. Everything has been kind of hectic this week." He pointed out. "I'm sorry I didn't come by sooner."

Lucas smiled. It was nice that Nathan stopped by at all. They had been talking, but it wasn't much. "Thanks." He told him. "What's been going on?" he asked. "I obviously haven't been to school all week. The doctors said I can go back next week, my medication should be working by then."

"That's great man," Nathan stood up and held his knuckles out. "Tim had a party last Saturday." He explained. "Somebody drugged the bottle of liquor I brought. Peyton, Brooke and Erica got really sick. Erica told the police I brought the bottle and encouraged Brooke and Peyton to drink most of it. The police are trying to put this on me." He explained. "I haven't been to school all week either."

"Wow," Lucas let out. "I guess you have been busy." He agreed. "I'm really sorry."

Nathan shrugged. "I haven't really talked to anyone all week, not even Brooke. I thought I would come by and see if you were able to leave and get something to eat."

"Yeah," Lucas agreed. "I can leave. My mom is at work. The only thing is, Jake was supposed to come over with Jenny. He hasn't been able to go to school because Jenny has been sick. Maybe they want to go with us." He suggested.

"We'll stop at his house on the way there," he said grabbing his car keys and walking out the door.

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Haley walked out of her second class and looked at the hallways. "What is it senior skip day?" she said aloud to herself. "Where is everybody?"

"Talking to your self?" a guy Haley had never seen before asked walking past her and smiling.

Haley looked at him confused. "Nobody is here today," she pointed out.

"Nobody you hang out with," he corrected her. "I'm here, and you're here. That's all that matters right?"

Haley laughed. This guy was a few inches taller than her with dark blonde hair. His eyes were very blue and he wore a "Voclom" t shirt over a studded belt and a pair of jeans. He looked like someone Peyton would date.

"I'm Haley," she held out her hand to shake his.

"I know," he said grabbing his books and walking away from her.

"I guess I won't get your name then," she muttered. She put her books in her locker and walked toward the door of the school. No point in being at school when nobody else was.

Haley drove to Brooke's apartment and knocked on the door. "Hey," Brooke smiled looking at her standing in the hallway. They hadn't spent much time with Haley lately. In the midst of everything Brooke almost forgot she existed. "Come in,"

She followed Brooke in the apartment and looked around. Garbage was thrown on the floor. A few liquor bottles graced the counters. "This place is disgusting!" she laughed.

"Oh tutor girl shut up. What are you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be at school?" Brooke asked opening her bedroom door and climbing back on the bed with Peyton.

Haley looked at Peyton and waved. "Well, I noticed that nobody has been at school all week, and I was starting to get worried I was missing out on something. I know Luke is at home because he's sick, but everyone else, what's your excuse?"

Brooke laughed a little. "We're sick too," she lied. "It's actually a long story."

Haley shrugged assuming nobody wanted to tell her the story. "Well, since none of us are at school, are you hungry?"

Brooke looked at herself in the mirror. "I'm not going anywhere, I look like hell." She was dressed in a Black track suite. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"You look fine," Peyton laughed. She was in a pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. "Let's go eat, I'm starving."

"Good," Haley smiled satisfied. "Let's go."

ITLTLTLTLTLTLTLTI

Jake set Jenny in her high chair and sat down next to her. Lucas and Nathan sat across from him. The decided to go to a place called "Bonanza" located in the mall.

"Wawa," Jenny yelled at a cup of water on the table. Jake reached over and helped her drink out of it.

"She's getting so big," Nathan pointed out.

Jake nodded, "She's almost one." **(Sorry, I can't remember how old she is for real.)**

A man in a long sleeve white shirt came over to take their order. Lucas sipped his water slowly when he noticed a group of girls coming in the front door. He almost choked when he saw who it was. "Look!" he exclaimed pointing at them.

Haley was handing the man at the register a piece of paper and Lucas assumed it was an autograph. The girls sat down at a table in the back. "I wonder why they aren't at school?" Nathan asked.

Peyton was laughing and Brooke was making a face at her. Haley sat next to them staring into space. Jake stood up and started to walk toward them. He was going to find out exactly what they were doing.

"Hey," Jake smiled sitting down at the table.

"Hey," Peyton smiled back. "What are you doing here?" she asked. She looked across the room to see Nathan and Lucas staring at them also.

"Oh," Brooke shrugged. "I guess everyone decided to skip out on school today." She was disappointed that Nathan skipped school and hung out with Lucas and Jake instead of her. He hadn't even called.

"Lucas is home because he's sick. I'm home because Jenny's sick, and Nathan, I don't know why he's home."

Peyton and Haley started to get up to join Jake's table. "Where are you going?" Brooke called.

"To their table," Peyton laughed. "Come on," she grabbed Brooke's arm.

Brooke reluctantly followed them. "So much for just hanging out," she muttered. She sat down next to Nathan but didn't speak.

"What are you doing out of school?" Nathan asked Haley.

"Nobody was there, so I decided to leave," she explained. "What? It's not like I've never skipped school before. I threw up on your dad remember?"

Brooke closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Nathan hadn't even so much as said hello and now he was flirting with his ex wife.

Lucas laughed and looked at Brooke and smiled. He knew she stayed home because his mom called her out of school. He knew why, it was because of what happened with Nathan and Tim's party. He assumed that was why Peyton wasn't at school either.

Haley looked away from the table for a second and noticed the guy with the "Volcom" shirt sitting down with a group of his friends at another table. "Hey!" she exclaimed. She stood up with out telling everyone where she was going and marched over to the table. "Are you stalking me?" she asked.

The guy looked up at her and laughed along with her friends. "Um, no," he paused. "Are you stalking me?"

"Yeah right!" Haley yelled.

The guy stood up and pushed her away from the table. "Haley," he smiled. "All I did was say hello to you at school. Then I left with my friends to eat. I had no idea you were going to be here."

Haley laughed feeling stupid for her accusation. "I'm sorry," she started to turn away and go back to her friends.

"Haley wait," he called pulling her back. "I'm Jason." He shook her head.

She nodded, shook his hand and went back to the table catching a very interesting look from Brooke.

**Lyrics- "Swing Life Away" (Rise Against)**

Next Chapter- You'll find out who drugged the girls. **CAN ANYBODY GUESS?**

So I hope you like this chapter. It's a little longer than the others. I took my time writing it, because I wanted it to be good. It didn't come out how I planned, but I hope that everyone likes it. The next chapter will include mostly Brathan I promise, I just wanted to give everyone else a chance to have some drama too. Even though I don't like Haley, she deserves something-haha. Please review.

**OTHbaby08-** I'm glad you liked the last chapter. You know that I update usually about a chapter a day, so yes it's pretty soon. If I got reviews faster I would update sooner, but I want to give everyone a chance to read what I write 

**Cindyvietkutie10-** Yup Brooke is alright, we don't want everyone on the show in the hospital haha.

**LucasnHaley-**Haley deserved to hear it from Lucas. I love their friendship. At least I did, before she left. I totally get that you think they're cute together and not like DC that's just the way I see it. It's cool though, no problem with opposing views. Yes, I was a Joey/Pacey fan. Maybe I'm biased.

**Mellie-** Thanks for the info about Ex obviously I don't know a lot about it, I did a little research and tried to cover it in this chapter. Hopefully I did okay. I also love Atmosphere, they're from Minnesota where I live. I like to use songs as my titles, its fun.

**Mony19-**This chapter didn't really cover if Nathan get in any trouble, but I promise you'll find out soon.

**l-a-c-18- **Nathan staying with Brooke was the best part of the whole last chapter in my opinion. I wanted to write him taking care of her because I thought it would be adorable.

**LivingintheOCsucks-** Thanks for saying the last chapter was the best chapter so far. I appreciate you reviewing all the chapters while you got caught up. You're great!

**Brucasbrathangrl**- Yup, twists are a lot of fun. Sorry you didn't find out yet, but you will!

**Othbaby08-** It was a cute "Awe" chapter. Brathan is of course awesome, and yes Lucas is going to be okay  I hate writing about dying. Even though that's pretty much what my other fic is about.

**Mony19-**Tim & Skills were just for you!

I don't think I missed anyone, but if I did, thanks for your review!


	25. Softer To Me

Well guys, here it is! An entire chapter dedicated to Nathan and Brooke's day together. I hope you like it. Everything else that's going on with Peyton/Jake, Lucas, Haley, Josh, well happen next chapter. You've asked for it, now you get it. Please review because my reviews are suddenly growing few and far in between. This chapter is a little graphic.

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

"**Softer To Me"**

**Reliant K**

I'm still alive. That much is true  
I've never lied, well, I guess I've told a few.  
There's nothing to see because I brought nothing to show.  
The conversation got too deep, I shrug and tell you I' don't know.  
This life can get so hard, this world can be so cruel,  
Sometimes I fall apart I feel just like a useless tool.

Nathan sat down on the bed and red a car magazine while Brooke showered. He could hear the water running in the bathroom so he knew he was safe from conversation for at least an hour. He didn't feel like talking to Brooke. It wasn't that he was mad at her. He really couldn't explain his feelings. He was confused.

The magazine showed a picture of a Mercedes on the cover and a brunette standing against it. He threw the book on the floor. He wasn't in the mood to look at girls standing against cars. What was he going to do until Brooke was out of the shower?

He sat down next to Brooke's computer and noticed a shiny silver object peaking out of her drawer. He didn't want to be nosey, but he was too curious to know what it was. He pulled open the door and took out the silver watch. It held a price tag that read $2065. Why did Brooke have such an expensive watch in her drawer? She didn't even have a job.

Nathan set the watch back down and decided to lay down until Brooke was done. Before he knew it he was asleep.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Brooke put the last of her make-up on and went into her bedroom to find Nathan sleeping in the bed. "Well, good thing I got ready," she muttered to herself. She was wearing a towel until she could find something to wear. She sat down at her computer and opened the drawer pulling out the watch she bought for him.

She looked at the shining silver and held it in her hands. She bought the watch years ago. Nathan was dating Peyton, but when she saw it she knew it would be perfect for him. She never had the chance to give it to him because it was never the right time.

She couldn't give it to him while he was with Peyton. That would be strange. She couldn't give it to him while she was with Lucas because Lucas would be mad. Maybe she would give it to him today.

Brooke knew the smart thing would to pawn the watch and pay her next months rent. She desperately needed to find a job. She couldn't do that. The watch meant so much to her. She wanted to give it to Nathan.

"What are you doing?" Nathan asked whispering in her ear and looking down at her.

Brooke jumped out of her chair and turned around. She slapped him in the back of the head. "Don't you ever do that to me again!"

Nathan held his head and made a sad face. "I can't believe you hit me!"

"I'm so sorry!" she cried grabbing him and kissing his head. "I didn't mean to! You just scared the hell out of me!"

Nathan laughed a little and sat back down on the bed still holding his head. "Any chance you want to make it up to me?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. For the first time in a long time she didn't feel like do anything with Nathan. "I thought maybe we could talk instead?"

"Okay," Nathan accepted. He didn't want to, but he knew he had to.

Brooke sat down next to him and looked into his eyes. "Where have you been all week?" she started.

Nathan shrugged. "I just didn't feel like going to school. I feel like everyone is going to look at me like this guy who tried to drug his girlfriend and her friends."

Brooke's eyes looked sad. She didn't want Nathan to feel that way, but she didn't know how to take away the pain in his heart. "Nathan, I know you didn't try to drug me. I know who tried to drug us."

"What?" Nathan looked at her confused. "What are you talking about."

"It was Tim," she whispered. "I figured it out this morning. Tim is always hitting on everyone but never gets the girl. Plus, when we were leaving in the morning he said he had a feeling something bad was going to happen, that's why he was awake."

"You're right!" Nathan exclaimed. "He drove me home from school that day because I was drunk. I let him drive my car, and he was alone in the car while I changed. The bottle was in the car," he explained.

"Speaking of which," Brooke brought up. "Why exactly were you drunk at school?"

Nathan laughed a little bit. "It was an accident." he told her. "I put some peppermint schnapps in my hot chocolate before I left for flavor. It was really good so I kept drinking it all day. I didn't think I drank enough to get drunk but before I knew it I was."

Brooke laughed and kissed him. "You're funny."

"I have to tell the cops what Tim did," he pointed out. "I can't believe my own best friend would do something like that."

Brooke shook her head. "I never liked him."

Nathan looked at her thinking deeply about Tim putting drugs in the bottle. She was so deep in thought and so serious. He missed the Brooke that was so fun and so carefree. Ever since they started dating she had been kind of serious.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

"Nothing,"

"Shut up Nathan," she hit him the arm. "You were undressing me with your eyes."

"No I wasn't!" Nathan defended laughing. Maybe he was wrong. It was just like Brooke to make a stupid comment like that.

"I'm hungry." she stood up from the bed. "Should I make pizza?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "I don't care. Didn't we just eat though?"

"Yeah," she pointed out. "Why am I so hungry?" she shrugged. She walked toward the door and dropped the towel. "Oops!" she covered her mouth.

Nathan's eyes widened at a naked Brooke. "You're going to cook without your clothes on?"

She nodded and started walking to the kitchen.

Nathan bolted out of the bed and took off after her. Once he caught up to her she started running around the coffee table. Nathan continued to run trying to catch her. "This isn't fair!" she cried running in circles. "You have your clothes on."

Nathan laughed throwing his shirt over his head as he chased her. He started to fall down as he pulled his pants off. "Now we're both naked." he pointed out.

Brooke continued to run around the apartment. She scooped Nathan's clothes up in her hands and ran to the bathroom locking the door. She threw her bath rob on and tied it quickly. She came back out with Nathan's clothes in her arms.

"Hey," he said sadly seeing she was all covered up. "What are you doing?"

Brooke walked out on the deck and held Nathan's clothes over the edge.

"Brooke Davis! You wouldn't!" he yelled holding himself and attempting to walk out on the deck to get his clothes.

"Don't get any closer!" she yelled to him. She looked down at the pavement below. There was an elderly woman and her grandkids walking toward the building.

Nathan caught a glimpse of the woman and stepped back. "Come on!" he pleaded. "Please don't!"

"What are you going to do for me?" she asked with a sly look. "Because I could easily throw your clothes off this deck, and you'll have to leave here naked."

Nathan wasn't sure what to do. He didn't have a clue how he was going to get Brooke to come back inside with his clothes. "I'll do anything you want, you name it."

"Fine," Brooke smiled walking back inside and handing him his clothes. She watched him put them back on. "Massage my feet." she sat down on the couch and put her feet on the table exposing the area up her robe.

Nathan looked at her and shook her head. "Uh uh, no way, you know how much I hate feet!" he cried. "Please don't make me."

"Please don't make me!" Brooke wined. "I'm a poor little rich boy who hates feet. I won't even do it for my girlfriend."

Nathan rolled his eyes and sat down in a chair pulling it up to the couch. He took Brooke's feat in his hands and began to massage them making a very unhappy face. "This is disgusting." he wined. 

"Fine," Brooke took her feet back and stood up. "I'll just throw your clothes then." she smiled.

"How are you going to do that?" Nathan asked. "I'm wearing them."

Brooke grabbed him by the arm. "I could change that." she smiled. She pressed her lips against his. She rotated her tongue in circles on the inside of his bottom lip and bit him softly.

"Okay," Nathan whispered throwing his shirt back over his head.

Brooke reached for the button of his pants and immediately took them off kissing him again. She pulled him close to her smiling the whole time. Suddenly she pulled away and grabbed Nathan's clothes and threw them out the window.

Nathan's face dropped as he watched her do it. "You did not just do that!" he cried.

Brooke laughed at him and nodded her head. "Oh yes I did." Nathan took off toward her bedroom and locked the door so she couldn't get it. "Nathan what are you doing?" she screamed pounding on the door.

After about five minuets of Brooke screaming he opened the door. Nathan threw the last piece of her clothing out the window.

"Oh my God, you did not do that!" she cried. "My clothes are expensive!" she pretended to be upset.

"I'm sorry." he said realizing how mad she was. He walked over to her and tried to hug her but she shook her head holding her robe tightly to her body. She couldn't pretend anymore and started to laugh.

"Oh no you didn't!" he said chasing her down and taking her robe off. He threw it out the window with the rest of her clothes.

The two of them stood staring at each other naked. "What are we going to do now?" Brooke motioned.

Nathan threw her down on the floor and hovered above her kissing her again. He lowered himself onto her body and forced himself inside her.

Brooke held on tightly to him kissing him passionately rocking back and forth with his body. She let out a small cry.

Nathan smiled hearing the sound escape her lips. He loved to hear how much she enjoyed him. "Brooke," he whispered biting onto her shoulder.

"Nathan," she said loudly. The two of them rolled apart from each other onto the floor.

"Wow," he whispered looking over at her.

Brooke stayed silent but nodded. "Yeah,"

The two of them burst into a heap of giggles at the scene that just played out before them. "What are we going to do now?" she repeated the words she said earlier.

Nathan stood up and helped her up. "We're going to get our clothes," he explained.

"What?" she asked laughing. "I'm not going out there!"

"Oh yes you are!" he pulled her to the door.

"Nathan," she whispered sneaking against the wall of the hallway behind him. "I can't believe we are doing this!" she cried.

Nathan pulled her out the front door of the building and around the house to wear his clothes were. He picked them up and ran toward where her clothes were laying in huge piles.

"I can't believe you seriously threw ALL of my clothes out the window."

"I didn't" he laughed. "He picked up the top layer of clothing from the pile to show a heap of towels underneath it."

"You mean to tell me that I have clothes in my apartment and you made me come out here naked?" she cried getting angry.

Nathan picked up the clothes and held them against her body for her to hold. "Yup."

Brooke started to chase after him. Nathan ran toward the front of the building to open the door. "Oh my God," he whispered. "Did you bring a key?"

Brooke looked at him almost in tears. "No!"

They both started to laugh when they heard footsteps behind them. When they turned around they saw Haley, Lucas and Peyton standing at them with large smirks on their face.

**Well, there it is. I have to say. This is my longest and favorite chapter so far. What did you think?**

**Cindyvietkutie-**You'll get to find out for sure if it was Tim or not next chapter that drugged them. Brooke and Nathan made up, are you happy? And this entire chapter was Brathan just for you!

**Mony19- **Nope, Jason wasn't the guy who drugged them. He's just there to stir Haley up a little bit.

**L-a-c-18 – **I enjoy Peyton and Brooke's friendship. I think Brooke needs a good friend, and I think after everything that happen with Lucas in season one Peyton has been a pretty good friend to Brooke. Brooke was a little dumb for trusting her again, but I think they're past it now.

**LivingintheOCsucks- **I like Jason too. I wrote his look as something I would look for myself. You'll def see more of him coming up!

**So thanks to everyone who did update. Your updates do make a difference.. I write the story how I want, but I do consider what you say each chapter!**


	26. The End

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

"The End" 

Nathan pulled into Brooke's driveway ready for their date. It had been a long day for him. He was dressed in a pair of nice jeans and a black sweater. It was Brooke's birthday. Brooke didn't know but they were having a surprise party for her. She thought they were just going out to dinner.

He watched as she walked out of her apartment building. She was wearing a knee length black dress. Her hair was curled and pulled back. The bracelet he gave her sparkled on her wrist. She was holding something in her hand.

"Hi," Brooke kissed him on the cheek. "Are you ready to go?" she sat down in the passengers seat.

"Yeah," he smiled back at her. "You look amazing,"

"Thank you." She laughed. "You don't look so bad yourself."

Before Nathan started to drive she turned to face him. "I have something to give you," she whispered. She handed him a small black box.

Nathan took the box and opened it curiously. It was the watch he found in her desk the day before. "Brooke, this is way too expensive." He handed it back to her.

"Nathan, I bought it a really long time ago." She explained. "It was even before Peyton. I just thought it would be weird to give it to you." She explained.

Nathan slid the watch around his wrist. It fit perfectly. "Thank you," he kissed her. "This is really nice."

"You're welcome," she smiled. "Now let's have a great night."

Nathan drove silently for a few minuets before speaking again. "My mom is getting out this weekend," he told her.

"What?' she exclaimed. "Nathan's that's great!"

"Turns out she was covering for someone. Her lawyer proved she couldn't have been the one to do it. She was with Karen at the exact time of the murder. Karen was her alibi."

"So do they know who did it then?" Brooke asked curiously.

"No," Nathan shook his head. "They probably won't ever find out either."

Brooke smiled. "Well it's great that your mom is getting out." She looked out the window. Somehow Brooke knew exactly who did it. It was Karen. She would never say a word about it, but in her heart, she knew.

"Tim didn't drug the bottle either," Nathan explained.

"Well, look at you with all this information." She laughed. "How do you know? Do you know who did it?"

"I talked to Tim. He knew who did it."

"Well who was it?"

"It was some guy I don't know," he laughed. "I guess he thought it would be funny to make it look like it was me. He doesn't like me or something." He told her.

"Oh," Brooke said. "Why didn't Tim stop it?"

"I guess he found out the next morning. That's why he was already awake. He had been sleeping and heard this guy talking about it with someone else. He told the cops the truth before I did."

"That's great I guess," she smiled. "So where are we going for dinner?"

"Santino." He told her.

"My favorite," she smiled. She climbed out of the car in the parking lot at Nathan's side. He held her hand tightly as they walked into the restaurant. "Where are we going?" she asked as she followed him to a private room toward the back. 

"Surprise!" everyone yelled as they walked in.

Brooke covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my God," she whispered. She looked around the room decorated in bright red colors. Haley, Lucas, Peyton, Karen, Andy, Tim, Skills, Mouth, Erica, Jake, and a bunch of other people from school were standing inside.

"Happy birthday Brooke," Peyton hugged her.

When the shock wore off Brooke walked around thanking everyone for coming. When she was finished she sat down at a table with Peyton and Jake. "This was so nice of you guys,"

"Thank Nathan," Peyton smiled. "He did most of it."

"Wow," she watched Nathan talking to Haley and another guy she hadn't seen before. "This is so amazing,"

Peyton smiled. She was glad her friend was finally happy. "Oh hey, I have a birthday present for you." She said going to her bag to get it. "Here," she handed Brooke a large scrapbook.

Nathan joined her and opened the pages of the book. The first page was a drawing of Brooke and Aubrey at the mall. A caption from Brooke's mouth read, "We're not having sex." Brooke smiled. The next drawing was a picture of Brooke with her head on Nathan's shoulder. There were a few pictures of her and Peyton in between the drawings and finally she focused on a drawing of her and Nathan standing outside her apartment building naked.

"Wow, I look hot even in your drawings P. Sawyer," she laughed. She set the book down and hugged her best friend. "You are so unbelievable."

"Your welcome Brooke," she hugged her. "I'm just glad you're happy."

Brooke was more than happy. She looked around at everyone there to celebrate for her. What more could you ask for. She had the most perfect friend in the whole world and the best boyfriend she could ever ask for. She hugged the two of them in her arms and knew, this was all she was ever going to need in life to be happy.

**The End**

**Okay, so I know this was short, and I'm really sad to end this story because I love it so much. I got wonderful reviews from the last chapter, and I didn't think I could have written any more chapters to beat that. I'm going to start another story and I hope you all support it like you did this one. I hope my ending didn't suck! Thank you all!-Brittney**


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